Stories

Boston's Approach to Funding Neighborhood Youth Violence Prevention Projects

As an outcome of the initial planning process, each Violence Intervention Program (VIP) neighborhood coalition in Boston submitted a proposal for youth violence prevention projects. A youth development strategy based on the best available evidence was selected and implemented in three VIP neighborhoods. It was designed to help youth gain new skills, hold jobs in local organizations, and develop leadership abilities. In addition to reducing shooting incidents and other forms of community violence, the goal of the strategy is to inspire feelings of opportunity in residents and particularly young people.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/stryve/grantee-profiles#boston

Selecting Prevention Strategies in Los Angeles County

One of the goals of First 5 LA is to ensure that children are safe from abuse and neglect. When deciding on priority strategies to meet this goal for Los Angeles County, First 5 LA included feasibility and timeliness in its selection criteria. First 5 LA assessed each strategy’s potential benefit for children and families in general, but it also examined how the potential strategies would increase safety specifically, analyzed the likelihood for success, and considered current windows of opportunity for action.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/child-abuse-neglect/communication-resources/efc-building-community-commitment.pdf

Strengthening the plan to prevent youth violence in Salinas, CA

The Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP) is an existing coalition made up of more than 30 organizations dedicated to gang reduction in Salinas. Through CDC’s STRYVE, public health leaders were able to add their voice to the mix. “We had not really been at the table. …So we had to demonstrate that the public health department had a certain skill set that would be of value,” STRYVE Coordinator Linda McGlone said. Salinas STRYVE offered CASP resources and a step-by-step process to strengthen the coalition’s existing plan, and helped them choose a focus area and strategies based on the best available evidence. CASP now has a framework for planning, pilot testing, evaluating, and sustaining youth violence prevention efforts.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/stryve/grantee-profiles#salinas