Camden City Collaboration to End Youth Violence Planning Initiative

OJJDP's State and Community Development (Invited) Awards program was established to provide grants and cooperative agreements to organizations that OJJDP has selected for funds in prior years. Through the Community-Based Violence Prevention Program (CBVP), OJJDP funds organizations working to reduce youth gun and gang violence through evidence-based models. These programs have been authorized by an Act appropriating funds for the Department of Justice.

The City of Camden will use supplemental funding to enhance and sustain work undertaken through CBVP. OJJDP funding has enabled Camden City to replicate the Cure Violence Model through its Cure4Camden program. A key component in the Cure4Camden program is its partnerships with community members, organizations and faith based leaders. Cure4Camden is a movement of people from the community who understand violence is a disease that spreads and that needs to be addressed in different ways and by different credible messengers.

More specifically, Camden will promote participation of faith leaders and faith based communities in changing community norms on violence by increasing the number of faith leaders on the Cure4Camden Steering Committee. Camden will look toward its Faith Based Community Organizations to engage in strategies to increase the awareness of the perceived risks and costs of involvement in violence among high risk youth and to participate in trainings on trauma informed care, violence prevention as a public health issue and strategies to combat violence. Camden will collaborate with its Faith Based Community in preventing youth from engaging in violent behavior and gang activity by incorporating violence prevention strategies within youth group settings. Funds will also be used to enable participation in national CBVP technical assistance opportunities including the fall 2015 convening.

CA/NCF