Communities in Action
Read more about how community groups form a partnership to prevent violence and how community leaders were able to apply their collective knowledge and lessons learned to prevent the epidemic of youth violence.
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Waimänalo Youth and Family Collaborative: Multisector Collaboration Built on Cultural Strengths
Waimänalo is one of several communities that are home to a large number of Native Hawaiians on the most populated Hawaiian island, Oʻahu. Waimänalo’s rich history of native settlement and the continuation of strong cultural values and practices make it a unique place.
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Sectors Connect to Prevent Youth Violence in Boston, Massachusetts
Grassroots groups in many of Boston’s tightly knit neighborhoods worked hard to protect youth from harm. At the same time, city agencies did their best to promote the health and safety of city residents. There was just one problem. These grassroots groups rarely spoke to each other. And they didn’t always communicate well with government agencies.
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Teaming up to Prevent Youth Violence in San Diego
For years, gang violence was on the rise in San Diego. It seemed that every Monday morning the papers reported another gang-related death. City and community organizations had each launched efforts to prevent violence and to help youth achieve their full potential and make a successful transition to adulthood (positive youth development).
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Minneapolis Creates Blueprint to Prevent Youth Violence
Between 2003 and 2006, homicide was the leading cause of death for youth in Minneapolis between the ages of 15 and 24. Most of the 80 deaths that occurred during these years took place within five neighborhoods, a six mile square area of North Minneapolis. Stepping up police action in this area wasn't enough to significantly reduce youth homicides, so leaders began exploring other strategies.
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Public Health, Youth, and Law Enforcement: Reducing Violence Together
Community members, public health, and law enforcement all share a common interest in preventing youth violence. However, mutual distrust and fear often exist between public agencies, especially the police, and communities. This mistrust can hinder authentic dialogue about the serious issue of youth violence.
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Safe Communities are Strong Communities
The youth homicide rate for 10–24 year old Philadelphians is about 4.7 times the national average, and 2.7 times the rate of other large metro areas. Police data and community surveys indicate that Philadelphia youth are exposed to, victimized by, and contribute to persistently high levels of community violence.
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Youth Voice & Engagement in Violence Prevention
When the Philadelphia Collaborative Violence Prevention Center (PCVPC) was established in 2006, PCVPC academic and community researchers believed it was imperative that youth be integrated into the research process at every stage to ensure that the products and strategies developed to impact youth violence in the community were authentic and tailored to the ways youth communicate in Philadelphia.
