Resident volunteers and employees of the Housing Authority of Los Angeles (HACLA) put up the outdoor decorations, including wooden Christmas trees and snowmen and an inflatable Santa. Workers hung banners from street lamps along Lancaster Avenue, the housing complex’s main drag, that read Happy Holidays Ramona Gardens.

Authorities expect that a major raid this week on the Big Hazard gang will have long lasting benefits for Boyle Heights residents, particularly those who live in Ramona Gardens.

The last time someone was killed inside the Jordan Downs Housing Development in Watts, a man chased 48-year-old Antonio McNeil and shot him in a drug dispute in broad daylight. Video cameras installed in the development captured the chase and subsequent killing.

On Saturday mornings, groups of men play on basketball teams in the Ramona Gardens gymnasium. Some are Latino, from the neighborhood; others are African American, from elsewhere. In many parts of Los Angeles, two races playing together may not seem unusual. But in Ramona Gardens, it represents enormous progress.

On a Friday evening in Ramona Gardens, the public housing development, a group of mothers watched their daughters in matching green T-shirts.

While beating the odds of growing up in a low-income housing development, the girls from Troop 70013 work hard at learning to relate to others, developing values and contributing to their communities.

The first-ever Girl Scout Troop in Watts has been developed in partnership with the Los Angeles Police Department and Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles.

Conceived in 2012 and coached by LAPD officers Keith Mott, Cesar Rivera, Sergio Sanchez and Grant Goosby, the activity provides an outlet for kids who may not have had the chance to play football otherwise.

There are several layers to youth football. Learning the fundamentals of the game; building a strong work ethic to achieve a goal; working as part of a team instead of being an individual; learning how to deal with the ups and downs of winning and losing.

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