Listening to a series of speakers from sheriffs, community activists and former teenage gang members at a gang prevention summit on Monday, Sept. 28, I was riveted with fear and hope at the same time.

The event, sponsored by King County law enforcement officers, was held at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center at the sprawling conference room in Burien.

Addressing drive-by shootings, domestic violence, gang activities and scores of other social mayhems, speakers spelled out the stark realities that have been plaguing our communities — particularly in South King County.

Eleuthera Lisch, a spokeswoman for Metro Center YMCA, gave an hour-long lecture of the root cause of violence, with lots of PowerPoint and YouTube footage to boot.

Associating violence as a disease, which can affect anyone, she said that in order to root it out endemically, it should be fought with the same vigor as how cancer, HIV, smallpox and other deadly diseases are fought.

The disease of violence destroys communities, families and individuals alike. For example, in 2006, handguns killed 33 people in Great Britain, 97 in Switzerland, 36 in Sweden, 13 in Australia, 128 in Canada and 13,200 in the U.S., she quoted from one report.

In 2007, 750,000 young people in the U.S. between ages 10 and 24 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered due to violence, she said.

I was shocked to learn that most of the gang violence that plagues the United States is divided into just two main cultures: California-based and Chicago-based, which are then streamlined into subcultures in our towns, cities, counties, etc., said Det. Joe Gagliardi of the King County Sheriff’s Office.

Last year, 98 separate criminal gangs were contacted by King County, he said. And with 10 percent of Washington state schools involved in gang activities last year, parents and teachers are trying to find new ways to stanch this epidemic.

“We are not going to arrest our way out of gang-related crimes,” said King County Sheriff Sue Rahr, Washington state’s first female sheriff.

She said that gangs are attracted to kids who are not successful in school both academically and athletically. If they are not the jocks in sports, and if they get no respect at home, then a gang is the alternative. That’s when they seek affirmation from the street.

Federal Way’s Louis Guiden knows this very well. As a young man growing up in Shreveport, La., his mother would often verbally abuse him, telling him, “You will never be anything good in life,” he told the stilled audience. Before long, he chose the street.

Guiden’s self-esteem was at rock bottom, and he was as mad as can be. He was also confused. He wanted to do the right thing, but didn’t know where to begin. However, after witnessing one of his friends gunned down in cold blood, 15 bullets riddling the body, he decided to move to Seattle in 1993.

Within days after his arrival in Seattle, he found a job in a bakery paying three times the hourly wage he made in Louisiana. But that elation was short-lived. He suffered a near-death accident when a 500-pound load fell on top of him one evening at work.

The anger returned after he had to go from doctor to doctor to find the right remedy for his damaged body and mind. In April 1999, a whiff of fresh air found its way to his heart. Soon it transformed itself into the beautiful damsel that later became his wife.

She gives unconditional love to Guiden daily. He credits her for helping him becoming the man he is today. Staying up with him during the wee hours of the morning while they courted, she told her knight in shining armor that he was handsome. Smart. Powerful.

Quite a departure from what his mother had pummeled.

A motivational speaker, Guiden is the founder and president of Good Shepherd Youth Outreach (GSYO), a nonprofit organization that employs prevention/intervention strategies to develop services to educate and rehabilitate at-risk youth throughout Western Washington.

After giving a motivational talk at a middle school, a teacher told him, “You bring hope to kids.” Guiden decided to use HOPE in an acrostic: Handling Overwhelming Pressures Effectively as part of his youth campaign.

For more information, visit www.greatnessbeginsnow.org or write to GSYO, P.O. Box 25492, Federal Way, WA 98093.