Reimagining Youth Violence: Prioritizing Prevention and Intervention

The Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) proposes to collaborate directly with two Baltimore-based organizations: (1) We Our Us, and (2) Project Pneuma to carry out community-based efforts to identify those hurt people most likely to engage in or become victims of violence and to provide them with hope and healing. Of particular interest are children and adolescents who have lost hope and who have few positive role models, supports, or access to resources and positive connections. This initiative, Reimaging Youth Violence: Prioritizing Prevention and Intervention, will serve children and youth between the ages of 10 and 17 years, who are at high risk of being involved in gang and gun violence in Baltimore City.

This initiative seeks to both engage the disengaged and also to link with and braid other community assets, services, and supports so that there is increased synergy and greater outcomes. Considerable distrust and disengagement exist in Baltimore City, and through this initiative, they seek to make an effort to bring hope and healing by bringing credible messengers to the corners, community leaders, and board rooms, to the schools and stores, all places where the disengaged and those with resources and assets can be engaged.

MONSE proposes to increase the capacity of communities to change the culture and behaviors of children and youth, especially those at highest risk of shooting or falling off or never getting on a pathway to success by building on the work that is currently being carried out.  The proposed strategy under this grant program includes the following:

We Our Us will employ credible messengers and others to positively engage with Baltimore’s high-risk youth by providing coaching, mentoring, and workforce/opportunity development and support for individuals.
Project Pneuma will provide intervention support to Black/African American adolescent males between the ages of 10-14 (grades 4-8) who attend Baltimore City Public Schools, reside in high-risk environments, and/or are at risk for trauma and traumatic stressors.
Working Group for Reimaging Youth Violence: Prioritizing Prevention and Intervention will convene regularly to assess whether current and projected activities across city agencies, youth service providers, and other stakeholders advance the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model [1], as well as to identify and address service gaps and challenges. The Working Group will lead the proposed initiative.