Youth Violence Prevention and Reduction Program

The goal of this initiative is to support the development and expansion of strategies that increase school safety by preventing and reducing school violence. Self Awareness and Recovery (SAR) is the leading contractor of this multidisciplinary, multiagency collaborative team comprised of The Lionheart Foundation, Reaching Back to Our Youth, 21 Reasons, in addition to Sacramento County Probation Department and Yolo County Probation Department. Working collaboratively to prevent and reduce school violence to produce a vibrant environment for student learning, SAR will oversee the project design and implementation of the following strategies:

Lead intense case management

Utilize an evidence-based trauma healing program

Provide intervention tactics at school sites

Recommend and refer students

Deliver “backpack” services

Support public safety needs

In working with the target student population at Sacramento Unified School District’s Hiram Johnson High School, Luther Burbank High School and Rosa Parks Middle School, Bannon Creek School located in Natomas Unified School District, Washington Unified School District, and Sacramento County Probation Department’s Youth Detention Facilities to support successful reentry to school sites, SAR will achieve the goal to support the development and expansion of strategies that increase school safety by preventing and reducing school violence. Combining the expertise and capabilities of the Community-based Organizations (CBOs), school districts, chief probation departments, students and their families, this multidisciplinary, multiagency collaborative team will within a 36-month period achieve the following:

Objective 1: Improve school capacity to prevent and intervene early to incidents of violence. 

Objective 2: Enhance and expand partnerships between school systems and CBOs to address school violence. 

Objective 3: Expand opportunities for family engagement with school personnel to mutually address risk factors for violence. 

Objective 4: Improve communication between home and school to enhance protective factors for student success. 

SAR’s anticipated outcomes will deliver direct services to a minimum of 240 students and impact 13,689 number of combined students at the school site and Sacramento County Youth Detention Facilities in providing a safer, learning environment and improved school campus climate.