Roundtable - Restoring the Village Youth Initiative - Preventing Victimization of Gang Violence

The Supporting Victims of Gang Violence Grant Program provides funding for localities to increase the availability of direct support services for victims of gang-related violence and to develop or enhance the responses to children and youth exposed to gang-related violence in their homes, schools, and communities. This program is authorized by Pub. L. No. 116-6, 133 Stat. 13, 113.

The overarching goal of the project is to reduce victimization for children and youth exposed to gang-related violence by 30 percent over the 3-year project period through: (l) continued implementation of the existing Restoring the Village Youth Initiative anti-gang strategy; (2) enhancement of the strategy through improved system response to victims of gang-related violence and their families; (3) a reduction in the impact of gang-related victimization through improved provision and an array of support, mental health services, and treatment for children and youth living in the hot spot areas exposed to gang-related violence; and (4) the changing of community norms favorable toward gang violence and increasing gang violence prevention awareness through community engagement. The strategies to be used include (1) identifying children exposed to gang-related violence; (2) enhancing the system response to victims of gang-related violence by establishing a crisis response team; (3) providing treatment and healing for children and youth exposed to violence by enhancing community capacity for violence reduction retaliation and re-injury, and connecting victimized children and teens to a caring adult or mental health and wraparound services; and (4) launching of the National Night Out Campaign, which is a norms and prevention information campaign.

CA/NCF