Enrique Flores ’01, M.A. ’06, through his nonprofit East Side Heroes, coordinated Unity Day II in East San Jose, in March. The event strives to promote peace amid gang-troubled communities by encouraging gang members and former member—and those whose lives have been touched by the violent feuds—to bring in gang paraphernalia in exchange for gift cards and to participate in a march through residential streets to promote peace.
"It’s about identity transformation," said Flores, director of the Corazon Project, a nonprofit founded by Supervisor Dave Cortese that collaborated on the event. Flores mentors youths in an effort to steer them away from gangs.