OJJDP launched the Enhancing School Capacity To Address Youth Violence initiative in fiscal year 2022 to support networks of community-based organizations that work directly with local schools, serving students with customized support their schools cannot offer alone. Project sites implement a combination of prevention and early intervention programs to prevent and mitigate violence in schools and communities, and to address the factors that put youth and families at risk for violence.
In the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, FL, the Affirming Youth Foundation, an OJJDP grantee, collaborates closely with schools, families, and local service providers, serving youth ages 15 and younger who have either been victimized by or witnessed violence. Academic supports and wraparound services address many of the challenges the neighborhood youth face, while also reducing community violence or mitigating its impact.
Affirming Youth's youth-family-neighborhood-school partnership focuses on children’s lives at school, where their needs—and the needs of their parents and school officials—are most apparent, said Jonathan Spikes, President of Affirming Youth Foundation. Student participation continues during the summer, ensuring they have opportunities year-round to speak up about community issues, propose solutions—and be heard. The partnership currently serves more than 100 students at a local elementary school and a middle school, and plans to add a second middle school later this year.
“This program made us consider how can we listen to the voice of the schools because that is where things are happening.”
—Jonathan Spikes, President of Affirming Youth Foundation
The results of a community needs assessment led Affirming Youth to focus efforts on improving students’ math and reading skills, encourage close parental involvement, and connect students and families with services and resources from community-based nonprofits. Affirming Youth follows the National Institute of Justice’s comprehensive school safety framework, which calls for promoting a positive school climate, addressing students’ emotional needs, and implementing policies that ensure student safety. Monthly meetings with a community collaborative—comprising parents, school administrators, and 45 local service providers—give stakeholders a voice in program priorities, ensuring community awareness of issues arising in the schools, Dr. Spikes said.
The partnership works because it brings the entire community together, Dr. Spikes said. Last year, the neighborhood was rocked by the murder of a local 15-year-old. Affirming Youth supported a number of community efforts to help residents cope with their grief, including a “Walking One Stop,” a multiagency event to support families during traumatic events. Representatives from local agencies, the police, and the state’s attorneys’ office brought information about social and economic resources directly to residents’ homes.
Other programs supported by Affirming Youth include the student-driven Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Club for middle schoolers, which emphasizes educational activities aimed at preventing violence and strengthening community connectedness. Participants may also receive counseling, and the program offers school supplies and food to families in need.
Another program, Project Citizen, encourages middle schoolers to develop their own solutions to local concerns. The program emphasizes community engagement and teaches youth about public policy and how they can influence it. For example, students identified issues with local garbage collection and then worked with the county commissioner to improve it, giving them a sense of civic pride.
Resources:
OJJDP’s Model Programs Guide contains information about evidence-based programs that promote school and community safety.
OJJDP’s National Gang Center offers resources to help schools and law enforcement agencies address violence and gang activity in schools, including the Gangs in Schools guide and webinar series.