South Memphis Gang Intervention Model to Prevent Adverse Child Trauma (IMPACT)

Grantees are funded under this initiative to develop program activities based on the core strategies of the Comprehensive Gang Model. Category 1, Intervention, supports intervention strategies that can dissuade youth from joining gangs and help them discontinue their involvement in gangs. Proposed strategies are built upon the principles of the following core strategies in the OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model: Community Mobilization, Opportunities Provision, and Social Intervention.

The South Memphis Gang Intervention Model to Prevent Adverse Child Trauma (IMPACT) will establish a collaborative partnership to create a trauma informed gang intervention program in the South Memphis community. The project will target minority and/or disadvantaged youth who have been involved or are at-risk of being involved in gangs for whom childhood trauma and exposure to violence is a major risk factor. The proposed project will achieve two main objectives: 1) reduce and sustain reductions in community youth violence, particularly gun and gang violence, and victimization, and 2) prevent violence and promote healing from victimization and exposure to violence. The project will work with an existing working group (Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to identify and address service gaps and barriers. The target area for this work will include an area with younger, more impoverished mostly African American residents located alongside an area that is undergoing intensive revitalization with a low-income population, also mostly African Americans. The area has minimal resources, employment opportunities or transportation availability and the community organizations serving the area offer a diverse array of human and social services that address the broad needs of the residents. In this project, the UTHSC Center for Health in Justice Involved Youth (CHJIY) will work with 100 youth and their families and use community organizations in the target area to directly refer youth for services available in their communities that support opportunities to avoid gang affiliation and achieve more positive futures. CA/NCF