Faith and Community-Based Youth Violence Prevention Training and Technical Assistance Initiative

This program aims to build the capacity of faith and community based organizations working collaboratively with OJJDP's youth violence prevention program sites. This provider will broker, coordinate, and provide relevant training and technical assistance (TTA) to organizations representing various faith traditions and community-based organizations that are engaged with or seek to engage with the three youth violence prevention initiatives—Defending Childhood, National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, and Community-Based Violence Prevention Program—that OJJDP is funding in 39 sites nationwide.

DSG and its partners -- Futures Without Violence, the Black Church Center for Justice and Equality, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, and the Prevention Institute -- will provide TTA that falls into four categories: organizational development; effective and essential partnerships; effective programs and practice; and effective fundraising. The DSG team will encourage a wide range of faith- and community-based institutions to start or enhance violence prevention activities; connect the faith-community to existing community systems and processes that are working to end youth violence; and encourage and incentivize the coordination of faith-based efforts across traditions to address youth violence.

The DSG Team will build capacity by implementing a number of activities, shaped by the needs assessment conducted after award. These activities include providing onsite TTA, establishing a community of practice, conducting webinars, holding regular calls, facilitating peer-to-peer learning, organizing two regional trainings and one national convening, and dispensing mini-grants to ten local faith-based organizations.

CA/NCF