- Albuquerque’s “Youth Violence Prevention Program Expands.” For KRQE, Micaela DePauli reports on the expansion of the city’s School-Based Violence Intervention program to a fourth high school in the city, Del Norte High, to “prevent youth violence by reaching students before they [engage in violence].” The program “identifies students who may be struggling with disciplinary issues, have involvement with the juvenile justice system, or show signs of being on a path toward dropping out or engaging in violence” and… pairs students with trained interventionists who offer daily one-on-one mentorship, life skills coaching, and counseling [that is] … built directly into their school schedules.” The program also keeps the support going outside of school, “engaging families directly… interventionists work with students’ parents or guardians to assess needs outside of school and connect them with resources and services that offer a more stable home life.”
Run by Albuquerque’s Community Safety Department, the School-Based Violence Intervention Program “is already active at three other Albuquerque Public Schools … and early results show promise” city leaders said in announcing the expansion. Students involved in the program in other schools “have demonstrated improved academic performance, fewer suspensions and disciplinary offenses, and high graduation rates.”
Related: The Albuquerque Community Safety Department—which houses the city’s civilian responder teams and what local leaders call a “third branch of public safety,” co-equal with the police department and fire department—is celebrating its fourth year of service to the city. To date, ACS “has responded to more than 120,000 calls for service,” and opened its own headquarters. ACS has also expanded to a multi-precinct model, similar to how fire and police departments divide a city into divisions, for a faster and more tailored response, and has become a national model for other cities and counties launching these departments. Mayor Tim Keller, a champion of the division, said: “ACS has fundamentally reshaped public safety in Albuquerque. By sending the right responders to the right calls, we’ve eased pressure on police and fire while providing real help to people in crisis. ACS is now a national model, and it started right here in our community.” - In Michigan, “Gun Violence Prevention Program … That’s Already Showing Results In Reducing Violence… Extends In Muskegon County Schools.” For MichiganLive, Kayla Tucker reports on the SafER Teens “evidence-based intervention program” pilot that is “seeing success… preventing youth gun violence,” after a year in operation, prompting city leaders to extend the mentoring program for another year in Muskegon County schools. The program is a partnership with the University of Michigan and Michigan Youth Violence Prevention—here’s how it works: City leaders identified the “schools with the highest truancy rates” and then set up those schools with a health worker team and programming. Then, “health workers are assigned to a school district where they meet individually with students… Students are prioritized based on truancy and behavior – if they have been missing a lot of school, have recently been in a fight or have shown signs of physical aggression, for example.” Then, over the course of the year, “students meet privately with the health worker, giving them the ‘opportunity to be as honest as they’re willing to be… [and are reminded that] everything is confidential’ unless there is a threat that the student will harm themself or others.”
- In Colorado, Aurora School Districts Addressing Youth Violence With Leadership Program.” For CBS News, Michael Abeyta reports on Aurora’s school-based violence intervention program “for students who are susceptible to falling into youth violence and showing them that there is another path that isn’t the streets” expanding to Cherry Creek School District schools and Aurora Public Schools. At-risk students “start by gathering in the summer to learn to set goals and think of ways to create a safer school community.” Then, the students have regular check-ins with a mentor who helps the student to stay on track with academics, school attendance, as well as helping to de-escalate violence before it explodes.
Joseph Cooks, a local high school student who has been part of the program since he was in the 8th grade, explained to the news station that the program changed his life: “I was going through a lot of trouble… I had been suspended like eight times, I felt like I was bigger than my parents… at the top of the world… [but] I really needed just some bigger role models to show me that I could strive for more… if [my mentors in the program] weren’t here, I don’t know where I would be in high school.” Joseph is now a graduating senior and participating in the “aspiring teacher program because [he] wants to lift up the next generation” of young people.
