A National Perspective on Preventing Urban Violence “Violence is not the problem of one neighborhood or group. Coming together and owning this problem and the solutions are central.” -Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Harvard School of Public Health, UNITY Co-Chair UNITY is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the CDC’s national youth violence prevention initiative, Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE), and in part by The California Wellness Foundation. www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
3 UNITY builds support for effective, scalable, sustainable efforts to prevent violence before it occurs so that urban youth can thrive in safe environments with ample opportunities and supportive relationships. www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
Who is UNITY? 44 Lead Partners: Prevention Institute, Harvard School of Public Health, UCLA School of Public Health SCIPRC, UC San Francisco Supported by: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) & The California Wellness Foundation National Consortium: Over 300 members from cities, national and state orgs, CBOs UNITY City Network: Growing # of cities committed to advancing preventive approaches www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY Co-Chairs Billie Weiss , MPH Deborah Prothrow- Larry Cohen , MSW Stith , MD UCLA School of Public Prevention Institute Health Harvard School of Public Health www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY Assessment 6 “An Assessment of Youth Violence Prevention Activities in USA Cities” Telephone interviews with key city informants in 15 of the 45 largest U.S. cities. City Mayor Police Chief Public Health Director School Superintendent www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY Assessment 7 “An Assessment of Youth Violence Prevention Activities in USA Cities” Findings: Youth violence is a serious issue for cities. Responses are not perceived to be highly effective or adequate Few reported using primary prevention to stop violence before it occurs. Informants lack a shared knowledge of existing youth violence prevention resources available in their city. www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY Assessment 8 “An Assessment of Youth Violence Prevention Activities in USA Cities” Findings: Law enforcement and criminal justice are the most prevalent strategy used in the cities. Public Health Departments are not generally included in city strategies. Most cities cited a lack of comprehensive strategy. Cities with the greatest coordinated approach also had the lowest rates of youth violence. www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
Findings from Consortium and 9 Steering Committee Input Prevention is not understood Structural racism is a barrier to getting support Cities need guidance www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY Activities 10 Coordinate the UNITY City Network: Connecting cities with each other Guide Effective & Sustainable Practice: Make the Case: Educate Decision Makers & Inform National Strategies: www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
11 UNITY City Network Seattle, WA Minneapolis, MN Boston, MA Detroit, MI Newark, NJ Richmond, CA Chicago, IL Denver, CO Oakland, CA Cleveland, OH Philadelphia, PA (San Jose, CA) St. Louis, MO Louisville, KY Los Angeles, CA Nashville, TN San Diego, CA Tucson, AZ Houston, TX New Orleans, LA www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
12 “An initiative on a national level and getting together can bring us all together so that we have greater power to focus our efforts and not be basically piecemealing our own individual efforts.” JT Turner, Commander of the Gang Interdiction Section with the Police Department in Tucson, Arizona. www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
13 “We joined the UNITY network to get an opportunity to network with all of these excellent communities who are, in many cases, far in advance of us to learn all that we can so that we can take it back to our community and help us become more effective in preventing youth violence.” Darrell Aniton, Director of the Office of Youth Development in Louisville, Kentucky www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
14 “I’ve learned quite a bit and I appreciate the passion that the participants in this convention have shown. That demonstration has really given me a lot of interest in going back and taking a look at what I’m doing as a judge, how to get involved on the front end.” Judge Jimmie Edwards, Circuit Judge St. Louis, Missouri www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY Activities 15 Coordinate the UNITY City Network: Guide Effective & Sustainable Practice: T raining, tools, consultation Make the Case: Educate Decision Makers & Inform National Strategies: www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY RoadMap 16 Who? Partnerships How? Strategy High-Level Leadership Strategic Plans Collaboration & Staffing Data & Evaluation Community Engagement Funding What? Prevention Programs, Organizational Practices, & Policies Communication Training & Capacity Building www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
A Guidebook to Strategy 17 Evaluation www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY Activities 18 Coordinate the UNITY City Network: Guide Effective & Sustainable Practice: Make the Case: Framing the discourse on preventing violence Educate Decision Makers & Inform National Strategies: www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
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Making the Case Why Violence Is a Public Health Issue: Violence is a leading cause of injury, disability and premature death. Violence is a significant disparity, disproportionately affecting young people and people of color. Violence increases the risk of other poor health outcomes.
Moving From Them To Us: Challenges 21 in Reframing Violence Among Youth www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
22 Literature Scan Key Informant Interviews Strategy Roundtables
Addressing the Intersection: 23 Preventing Violence and Promoting Healthy Eating and Active Living Healthy Safety & Eating & Preventing Physical Violence Activity
24 The Intersection A) Violence and fear of violence affect individual behaviors related to healthy eating and active living. B) Violence and fear of violence diminish the community environment , reducing support for healthy eating and active living.
25 A) Violence and fear of violence affect individual behaviors related to healthy eating and active living. 1. Violence and fear of violence cause people to be less physically active and spend less time outdoors. 2. Violence and fear of violence alter people’s purchasing patterns, limiting access to healthy food. 3. Experiencing and witnessing violence decrease motivation and capability to eat healthfully and be active.
26 “Turf wars deter people from walking to grocery stores.” -Community Leader “Violence has the most impact on the use of parks. People are afraid to exercise in the park . - Community Leader
B) Violence and fear of violence diminish the 27 community environment, reducing support for healthy eating and active living. Violence reduces social interactions that would 4. otherwise contribute to community cohesion. Violence acts as a barrier to investments in 5. community resources and opportunities that support healthy eating and active living.
UNITY Activities 28 Coordinate the UNITY City Network: Guide Effective & Sustainable Practice: Make the Case: Educate Decision Makers & Inform National Strategies: Highlighting what works & supportive policies and resources www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
29 www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
UNITY Policy Platform 30 Street outreach and interruption strategies. Universal, school-based violence prevention. Promote mental health and address substance abuse. Reduce young children’s exposure to violence. Community building. Strategies prioritized locally: quality early care and education; positive social and emotional development; parenting skills; quality after-school and out of school programming; youth leadership; conflict resolution; social connections in neighborhoods; economic development, including youth employment; mentoring; family support services; and successful reentry. www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
31 www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
32 UNITY Policy Platform State & National Supports • Allocate and align resources • High-level focal point for preventing violence • Multi-sector collaboration in federal and state governments • Equip people with the necessary skills • Establish supportive data, research and evaluation systems • Develop a communications campaign • Enhance public health’s capacity and infrastructure www.preventioninstitute.org/UNITY
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