BUILD Minneapolis

Youth gangs continue to have a significant adverse impact on youth, families, and communities across America. A growing number of communities have adopted multi-strategy, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and preventing gang activity. The OJJDP FY 2010 Youth Gang Prevention and Intervention Program provides funding for localities to replicate selected secondary gang prevention and intervention programs that are considered promising or effective. These programs must be a part of an existing community based comprehensive anti-gang initiative. This program is authorized by the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-117.

Minneapolis Department of Health and Family Support (MDHFS) is applying to replicate the Broader Urban Involvement and Leadership Development (BUILD) Program model and thereby reduce gang-related crime and activity among young people under age 17, who are African American and who reside in the most gang-affected neighborhoods of North Minneapolis. The prevention component is a 10-week, in-school program to prevent youth from engaging in gang life. This component will serve forty youth per year, to be implemented by the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) Beacon Centers at a school located in North Minneapolis. Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board's outreach workers will conduct street outreach in the identified neighborhoods as part of the intervention component. The community resource development component coordinated by MDHFS will assure fidelity to the BUILD model so that all components are aligned and connected, with technical assistance provided by BUILD in Chicago. The final rehabilitation component involves YMCA Youth Intervention Services staff administering re-entry curriculum at an alternative school housed inside the Juvenile Detention Center. This component will serve at least 25 adjudicated youth per year. Project partners will track respective performance measures and outcomes, and the Project Coordinator will synthesize results. Gang crime data collection will follow previously established protocols and will be coordinated by an MDHFS Epidemiologist.CA/NCF