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Compassion in Action ReportsGrassroots Solutions for Reducing Youth ViolencePreface On January 16th, 2007, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives launched a series of monthly Compassion in Action Roundtable meetings to highlight organizations, programs, and policies addressing critical social needs. The Roundtables convene and facilitate discussion between policymakers, government officials, philanthropists, and faith-based and community service providers around targeted issues. The events reveal the President’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative as a broad-based, community-centered reform agenda; showcase innovative projects and promising practices; and draw attention to government efforts to expand and support the work of faith-based and community organizations actively engaged in serving their neighbors and communities. The following report offers an overview of the first Compassion in Action Roundtable, entitled Grassroots Solutions for Reducing Youth Violence. Please note the statistical information presented throughout the report reflects data available up to the time of Roundtable, and excludes data collected after January 2007.Introduction
On Tuesday, January 16th, 2007, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) convened its first Compassion in Action Roundtable, entitled Grassroots Solutions for Reducing Youth Violence. OFBCI Director Jay Hein welcomed over one hundred community and faith leaders, government officials, school administrators, and teachers to discuss effective public and private strategies designed to reduce youth violence and restore social order. The Roundtable’s keynote speaker, Robert Woodson, founder and president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE), discussed his nonprofit’s Violence Free Zone program and the encouraging results from its six-city demonstration project. The Roundtable also highlighted President Bush’s Helping America’s Youth (HAY) Initiative, a nationwide program led by First Lady Laura Bush. Director Hein described HAY as part of the President’s broader compassion agenda designed to “expand the supply of effective compassion in every community across our nation.” Roundtable participants discussed how this supply could be further expanded through increased collaboration between the private and public sectors. Federal Strategies for Reducing Youth Violence Paul McNulty, deputy attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), told the Roundtable that faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs) serve a critical role in government efforts addressing youth violence because they are able to reach youth in ways government cannot. He explained, “It is not enough to bring services; it is not enough to address physical needs. It is important that when grants are awarded they can be awarded to programs that are there to provide services and to provide solutions that go to the core of who people are; that address issues of character. Because as we see in this subject, character is the key if we are going to make a change.” While in recent history the nation has experienced a steady decline in violent crime, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Report revealed that in 2005, incidents of these types of crime, including murder, forcible rape, robbery, aggravated assaults, and property crime, increased by 2.3 percent. To determine the cause of this increase, DOJ conducted an 18-city tour in November and December of 2006. During the tour, DOJ officials met with law enforcement and community leaders in cities that experienced a dramatic rise in violent crime, and in cities that experienced decreases. Among their findings was a rise in juvenile crime. According to McNulty, the reason why juvenile crime was driving the overall violent crime problem was “in some sense, nothing new.” He continued, “What’s not new is the fact that young people, unsupervised, can get into a lot of trouble.” What is new is the extent to which young Americans are exposed to media that glorify a “culture of violence.” Perpetuated in movies, television, and music, McNulty deplored media depictions of life as “…being cheap and violence being an option to use in the first instance without even thinking.” He said law enforcement leaders expressed concern that in all of the cities where there was an increase in violent crime, there were “too many kids exposed to too much violence [and] too quickly resorting to violence for small, little reasons.” In addition to the media’s portrayal of violence and its desensitizing effects, gangs are another negative influence on America’s youth. According to the Department of Justice, of the approximately 750,000 gang members living in America, one-third are under the age of 18. McNulty told the Roundtable that gangs are such a “wicked problem” because “they stand in opposition to everything the community is trying to do; everything that the family, the school, is trying to do, which is to try to raise someone to a point of responsibility and productivity in the community. Those gangs are there to say ‘look, come our way and stand against doing what is right….Find sanctuary in our culture of violence and find your strength and your definition here.’” McNulty noted that while the Federal government does not typically prosecute juveniles, it has taken measures to encourage States to approach the issue more seriously. One such effort is the $15 million Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative launched by the Attorney General in 2006. This Initiative provides $2.5 million in grant funds to each of the six targeted cities significantly affected by gang violence. The Initiative will incorporate prevention and enforcement efforts, as well as programs to assist released prisoners as they re-enter society. While these Federally funded programs play an important role in reducing youth violence, McNulty said a large part of the problem has to do with the message the juvenile system sends each time a young offender is caught. “So often …young people get in trouble, and the message of the system is ‘we’re going to look the other way this time,’ and then the next time…and then the next time, and the next time, because there is really nothing they can do. There are so few services within the government to provide real sanctions, to hold people accountable... and as a result, they learn that the system doesn’t work and then they reach the age of 18, 19 and suddenly they commit a violent crime and they are punished as adults and receive a serious prison sentence. And it’s the wrong message.” The right message, McNulty contended, should be about accountability. McNulty said there is a “range of programs and sanctions available to hold people accountable, short of incarceration, for those nonviolent-type offenses.” These programs deliver consequences in a way that demonstrates genuine concern for the future and well-being of young offenders. Some of those best positioned to provide the kind of compassionate, rehabilitative care critical to ending the cycle of youth violence are FBCOs. National Violence-Free Zones Initiative: A Grassroots Solution to Youth Violence One community-based organization that has successfully turned young Americans away from criminal activity is the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE). In January 1997, a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed in an altercation between rival youth factions in a crime-ridden public housing project in Washington, D.C. In response to this tragedy, CNE founder and president, Robert Woodson, created the Violence Free Zones (VFZ) Initiative, a program through which Woodson helped a local grassroots group negotiate a truce between the two warring factions. Once peace was achieved, the youths received life skills and workforce development training as an alternative to the drug and crime-filled lifestyle they agreed to leave. Since 1997, there have been no gang-related homicides in the area. As a result of its success, the VFZ model has been adapted in other parts of D.C. and in cities throughout the country. Woodson discussed the history, motivation, and methodology behind VFZ, demonstrating what works, and what does not work, when interacting with at-risk youth. The following are Mr. Woodson’s remarks as prepared for the Roundtable. Keynote Remarks for Robert Woodson, Sr., Center for Neighborhood Enterprise “Past approaches to reducing youth violence by using repression and sanctions simply have not stemmed the tide. Attempts at school reform in many urban areas have largely failed, because there cannot be any meaningful reform where there is violence and fear. In Baltimore, $20 million was invested in an initiative to divide larger schools into smaller schools—all still in the same building. Students from one of those schools were given uniforms, in a futile attempt to honor their status as advanced students. The result: the kids with uniforms became targets for fights, and the uniforms had to be taken away. In many schools children are fearful of even going to school because of assaults. Teachers in some schools give up their careers out of fear and frustration. Last year police in Milwaukee received more than 11,000 calls to respond to incidents at Milwaukee public schools. At an affluent Montgomery County, Maryland, high school, a security guard was attacked by students in full view of video cameras. Unfortunately, public officials talk about school reform and reducing school violence as though they were two independent entities. But just as economic development of a neighborhood must address civil order, the degree of civil order in a school is related to the ability of that system to improve itself. There have been two types of approaches to the worsening problems of our schools. Both are external. One attempts to focus on the children, as Oprah Winfrey has done. She took girls from high crime schools in Chicago, gave them tutoring, grooming lessons, and other advantages, and then reintroduced them to their own neighborhoods. On their return, they were teased by their peers. The culture of failure consumed these kids, and they fell back into dysfunctional behaviors. She has now taken the same concept to South Africa, hoping that the culture there will not doom her investment. The other approach attempts to reform the institutions, reducing school size, providing more training of teachers and principals, and even hiring psychologists. Police are now becoming part of the schools. The latest wrinkle is the addition of video cameras. At Churchill High School in Potomac, Maryland, video cameras didn’t deter the fighting but we got to see the video of the security guard being beaten up by students. If all you do is remove the children and try to change them, and externally alter the institutions in those communities, you fail to address the real substance of why young people, families, and communities fail. There is a culture of failure that must be changed and overturned. Detention, suspensions, and other repressive measures do not work because these kids have been sanctioned all their lives. Many of them already are victims of abuse and neglect, and they don’t even fear death. As one young man said, “It is better to be wanted for murder than not to be wanted at all.” You cannot confront a value crisis like that through tutoring, or teacher training, or uniforms or class sizes. What is unique about our Violence-Free Zone [VFZ] approach is that it addresses both levels of the problem at the same time. It seeks to transform the values, beliefs, and therefore the behavior of the children. At the same time it challenges the value norms of the community in an effort to change the culture so that it no longer encourages failure but instead rewards success. Origins of the Approach—The House of Umoja The principles of the Violence-Free Zone initiative are drawn from the work of Sister Falakah Fattah and her husband David, who in the 70s and 80s rescued the city of Philadelphia from being the “youth gang capital of America,” as it was then known. Discovering that the oldest of their six boys had become an active gang member, Sister Fattah responded by inviting 13 of his friends to come and live in their small row house, replacing the family furniture with mattresses on the floors. She told them, “I don’t know anything about gangs. But I do know about family.” They named their place the House of Umoja, and established rules together that governed conduct, such as requiring that everyone go to school or to work. They settled disputes at an “Adella”—a peace session where everyone would participate in finding a solution and meting out punishment if necessary. Other gang members sought refuge in this peaceful place, and eventually the Fattahs bought the other houses on the block and refurbished them. In 1983, the media-labeled “Wolf Packs” of marauding teenagers roamed the streets assaulting people. The Fattahs formed a Crime Prevention Taskforce by going to the county prison and enlisting 135 inmates, who gave them the names of 150 young people from the various corners to bring to them. The youths were brought by bus the following Saturday, and the inmates told the young guys that their behavior had to stop. And it did—all because of the creative thinking of the Fattahs, who saw how to use the community to heal itself. I studied Umoja and the Fattahs for several years, and chronicled their principles in a book called ‘A Summons to Life.’ Some of the young men who were part of the Umoja family back then are here today, and they have gone on to college and the business world. One, Curtis Jones, was Philadelphia’s Finance Director, and then headed a highly successful business incubator and development corporation. He is now standing for City Council. The First Violence-Free Zone—Benning Terrace, Washington, DC We applied Sister Fattah’s principles to the conflict in Benning Terrace in 1997, when the Circle and Avenue youth factions were locked in murderous combat. When a 12-year old boy was killed, I told a community group that we were assisting, the Alliance of Concerned Men, that this was a chance to prove their abilities. They reached the leaders of the two factions and brought them to the Center’s offices, where over a period of days we negotiated a truce. We partnered with David Gilmore of the DC Housing Authority, who provided jobs and training. We committed to these youths that if they turned away from violence, we would commit to them, and as a consequence, there have been no crew-related killings in Benning Terrace in almost 10 years. We took that model and exported it to other cities, identifying neighborhood leaders that had the trust and confidence of the young people. We helped them adapt the model to meet the needs of their locales. Omar Jahwar of Dallas, for instance, was the first to take the Violence-Free Zone initiative into the schools, with outstanding success. And now the VFZ is in 20 schools at six locations: Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Milwaukee, Washington, DC, and Prince George’s County, MD. The Community-Based Organizations—What it Takes to Start a VFZ The Center for Neighborhood Enterprise found each of these community leaders working at full time jobs but volunteering their spare time to help young people. We regarded them as social entrepreneurs and raised money so they could quit their jobs and make their avocations their vocations. We helped them establish organizations just as a venture capitalist would do in the business world who finds an honest entrepreneur and helps him or her with intense technical assistance. Then we helped them develop their budgets, and provided the start-up money. We also linked them to one another so they could share best practices, and talk about challenges and obstacles to overcome. The leaders of these organizations are of two types. As I described in my book ‘The Triumphs of Joseph,’ there are those who have ridden on stolen bikes and those that have not. Some of the leaders here have had no criminal records, the others have. Sister Fattah’s effectiveness had nothing to do with having a criminal past. Her effectiveness, and that of these leaders here, has to do with the respect that people in the affected communities have for them. All share qualities of humility and empathy that in some cases comes because an individual has walked and turned from a troubled road. And others have not themselves failed but have relatives or friends who have fallen. The Youth Advisors The neighborhood-based organizations then hire and train young adults in the community who also have the trust and confidence of young people. These young adults act as ‘Youth Advisors’ and work in the schools as hall monitors, mentors, and support systems for the teachers, school staff, and the students. They also take the most disruptive kids as identified by the school staff, and give them special attention and character- building training. The youth advisors exhibit the same qualities as the organization leaders. They share the knowledge of the neighborhood and the challenges the kids today are facing. Some are ex-offenders, some are not. But what they do have in common is that they do not fear the children. And their love and commitment to them is not based on a funded program. Most have made a lifetime commitment to these kids. Sister Fattah taught us that the young people first need to have a chance to rest and to feel love. Many of these children are accustomed to people acting in a repressive way with them. They wait to be hit either emotionally or physically. So they act in ugly ways to provide the other person to, in fact, treat them that way. Youth Advisors are able to look beyond the expressions of fear and pain and anger, reach past them, and either physically or emotionally put their arms around that child and say, ‘If I have done anything to cause you to act the way you are acting, please accept my apologies.’ The Youth Advisors are patient and persistent, until the child opens up and reveals what is causing the pain. Youth Advisors Are Character Coaches and Moral Mentors What does that mean? As William Barclay says, the law restrains a person through fear, but love redeems him by inspiring him to be better than his best: ‘There is no inspiration in all the world like love. Whoever went out from the presence of his loved one without the desire to be a better person? Life no longer becomes a burden to be borne, but a privilege to be lived up to.’ As Sister Fattah has taught us, the goal of this relationship is not just to stop the young person’s predatory behavior. It is one goal, but it is incomplete, because what happens if the young person stops injuring others only to turn that anger and frustration on himself and engages in self-destructive behavior? Victory is incomplete if a child ceases to be a menace to society, but remains a menace to him or herself. As one of our Youth Advisors said, ‘Now that we have stopped the violence, we can concentrate on rebuilding the lives of these young people so they can be everything that God intended them to be.’ An excellent example of this is that reported by one of the former Benning Terrace residents, Charles Penny, who has been a volunteer leader for 10 years along with 19 other young black men. Once part of the problem there, after the peace they came back to act as coaches and mentors to the children in that neighborhood. Charlie was proud to announce at a recent meeting of the teams that seven of his players had achieved the honor roll and he held up their report cards. They received a standing ovation from the rest of the kids. This illustrates how the culture is changed. The young people are never treated as clients. They are made to believe that they are important and have something to begin to contribute to the well-being of someone else. That principle of reciprocity is important, for if somebody is constantly the recipient of someone else’s largesse, after a while that child or person will not only despise the gift but the gift giver. The Youth Advisors are able to forge bonds with the children almost immediately because the child sees not an advocate but a witness. The children are persuaded to change when they can see someone who has faced the same challenges they face and has successfully overcome those challenges. That person becomes a living witness to that child that change and transformation is possible. The Youth Advisors also are able to protect the students. If the child says ‘someone is threatening to beat me up,’ that child knows he or she is not snitching. They do not lose any respect from their peers by sharing things that are happening to them. Schools tell the students to report bullying to the teacher or principal. But no child can maintain self respect in the school if he or she is running to the teacher. Youth Advisors offer an alternative because they can go to the contending parties and attempt to find out the source of the conflict. Because they are respected by both sides they are able to mediate that conflict, and thus, the self respect of both parties is maintained. It provides both sides a respectful way to withdraw without losing face and without snitching. Adults do not realize how powerful the pressure is not to snitch. In one school, for instance, after a young person was found to have a gun and was arrested, the class was asked how many people knew that he had brought a weapon to school. About 10 kids raised their hands. But no one had told the school staff. We call this the buzz. Our Youth Advisors can tune into the buzz, because the kids do not consider confiding in them as ‘snitching.’ The Youth Advisors are able to mediate between teachers and students. In Baltimore, for instance, a female teacher was being harassed by some students who often cussed her out when she tried to keep them from loitering in the hallways. On one occasion, there were six boys blocking the entrance to her room, one with a digital camera. A seventh youth threw an ice ball and knocked her down--and the school administration did nothing. When the teacher told New Vision leader Billy Stanfield, he and the Youth Advisors identified the boys involved and took them into a separate room and told them flatly that this behavior would not be permitted. Sometimes the Youth Advisors have to wear their resumes on their chests! But what the Youth Advisors said was, ‘This teacher is down with all of us, and anything happens to her happens to us.’ This had a definite impact on the culture, because two weeks later the same teacher approached some of the boys and one started to cuss. Another youth immediately said, ‘Don’t disrespect a woman.’ With that, that teacher knew that Billy and the Youth Advisors were really altering the culture in the school. A similar incident happened when some youths surrounded the vice principal and were getting ready to beat him up. The Youth Advisors came on the scene and the youths withdrew. Again, all they said was, ‘Mr. Jones is down with us.’ The Youth Advisors handled these situations in a way that did not take any authority away from the vice principal or the teacher. And the culture continues to improve when the teacher sees the child’s behavior changing and begins to act differently toward the child. In their presentation each of the organization leaders will talk about their own unique ways of changing the culture so that success is praised and welcomed by other kids. They will tell you specifically how they are able to change the culture and what the techniques and strategies are that they employ. Every one of these organization leaders and Youth Advisors place their lives in jeopardy every day. Just a few examples:
The principles of the Violence-Free Zone follow the medical model. Just as the human body tends to reject a transplant, most of the present strategies to combat youth violence fail because they come from outside the body. Measures that are parachuted in, no matter how well-intended they may be, have the consequence of being rejected. The VFZ organization leaders and the Youth Advisors represent antibodies—they are part of the body and they help the body heal itself, and we have the evidence to prove it. They should be supported--not just because they are community-based, but because they have proven their effectiveness with measurable outcomes. We invite you to look at the results. To sum this up, school reform and efforts to reduce school violence must be brought together and integrated. When school and other public officials contemplate reforms and restructuring of institutions, they should sit with these grassroots leaders—the moral mentors and character coaches—that are major influences of the culture. They should ask them how are the reforms that are contemplated supportive of the cultural transformation that you are achieving? Not until the institutional reforms support the positive cultural change will the schools be able to achieve the goals of quality education and a safe learning environment. They must be brought together.” Panel I: Violence-Free Zone Sites and Administrators Leaders from the six VFZ program sites joined the Roundtable to discuss their work with at-risk youth. The following are highlights from their testimony: Panelist: Gwendolyn Poles Sands, CEO and Executive Director Gwendolyn Poles Sands shared a story of two middle schools, plagued with violence, truancy problems, and classroom disruptions. The two middle schools were located in what is known as “Zone One” in Atlanta, home to at least five local “crews” and one of the most violent communities in the nation. Visions Unlimited entered the community with a diversified group of retired educators, former gang members, Vision graduates, and their parents. Visions Unlimited offered the youth in these schools academic support, family support services, wrap-around services, and constructive ways to spend their time at school, such as ‘lunch bunch’ activities. Sands said Visions Unlimited’s goal was to “transform the environment from hopelessness to hopefulness,” adding that the students they assisted and befriended were not considered at-risk but “at-promise.” After one year in these two middle schools, Visions Unlimited helped to reduce the amount of violence by 50 percent and the amount of classroom disruptions by 59 percent. Panelist: Billy Stanfield, Founder and Executive Director Billy Stanfield grew up in a middle class home and went to college. There, he started hanging out with the wrong crowd and ended up in the streets selling drugs. Eventually, Stanfield spent four years in Federal prison. After serving time, Stanfield was able to put his life back in order and eventually became a youth pastor. Through church, he met Robert Woodson and began New Vision Youth Services in a local school plagued with gang violence. He went into the school viewing the kids as “winners,” not as problems, and he looked at their lives through the child’s own reality. He believes that as long as people hesitate to embrace this philosophy, crime and violence will continue to increase. New Vision Youth Services has become known not as another form of law enforcement, but as an organization that cares and wants to help kids realize their potential. Stanfield has seen significant decreases in violence since the program began. He emphasized that “culture can be changed if you send the right people into the environment who can impact their culture and make a connection with young people.” Panelist: Omar Jahwar, Founder Omar Jahwar formerly worked in a prison where he served as a mediator to resolve conflicts between inmates. While there, he worked with an inmate who was a member of the Mexican Mafia. A condition of the inmate’s release was that he stay away from gang activity. However, the inmate knew that, in reality, he was expected to go back to the Mexican Mafia upon his release. While putting his own life at risk, Jahwar took the inmate to have a conversation with the gang leaders, during which Jahwar successfully negotiated the inmate’s release from the gang. Jahwar’s effective mediation skills were put to further use when, after appearing on television to discuss the problem of and solution to gang violence, a gang leader approached him for help creating a truce with an opposing gang. Jahwar met with both leaders and organized a gathering of more than 1,500 people who would witness the peace negotiation. At the gathering, CNE President Robert Woodson told the crowd, “If you promise peace, we will promise you our life forever.” As a result of this event, the first gang truce in Dallas was established. Panelist: Ramon Candelaria, Executive Director Through the Latino Community Center, Ramon Candelaria met a young man who planned to gather a group of friends together to fight a few other boys from school who had been teasing him about his shoes. Offering to buy the young man a pair of new shoes, Candelaria was able talk to him during the drive to the local Foot Locker. What he discovered was that the young man’s troubles extended beyond being teased about his shoes; he had significant problems at home which affected his performance at school. After Candelaria worked with him, the young man decided not to pursue the fight, and has not missed school since that day. As part of Candelaria’s VFZ program, students are given access to youth advisors during school days, nights, and weekends. During its first year, Candelaria saw a 48 percent drop in youth violence, a 43 percent increase in academic performance, and a sharp reduction in unexcused absences. He truly believes programs like the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise are vital to helping youth stay connected to positive people. Candelaria concluded with a story of a man driving down a dangerous road. Seeing another stopped on the side of the road with car trouble, the man contemplated stopping but also considered the danger to himself if he were to do so. Candelaria explained that the schools are like the individual stopped on the side of the road. “What is going to happen to our kids if no one stops to help,” Candelaria asked. “What price will we pay if we do not do enough for our youth?” Panelist: Curtis Watkins, Founder and President Curtis Watkins explained what it really means to be a youth advisor. Youth advisors give kids an opportunity to shine. They listen to the kids, allow them to be themselves, and meet them where they are. Watkins explained that he knew what it was like to be a troubled youth, having made many of those same decisions earlier in his life. He now helps to shift the negative behavior of youth who have stolen cars in the past to positive behavior through a Go Kart Club. This Go Kart Club teaches mechanics and channels the youth’s mechanical aptitude. Through this program, Watkins saw a reduction in their suspension and truancy rates. In addition, Watkins helped them move toward their academic potential. He expressed the necessity for the involvement of people who are sincere about helping at-risk youth and are not there just because of a program. “This is not a program; it’s a movement…from the bottom up,” said Mr. Watkins. Results of Violence-Free Zones Because the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE) recognizes that ongoing evaluation is a critical element in measuring the effectiveness of the VFZ program, it has developed a systematic approach to evaluate and document the results that each VFZ site is producing in their community. The results highlighted below are imperative to the expansion and sustainability of the VFZ program as a whole. Atlanta, Georgia
Baltimore, Maryland
Dallas, Texas
Washington, D.C.
Panel II: Leveraging Public/Private Partnerships to Reduce Youth Violence President Bush resolutely believes that government best serves people in need when it works in partnership with FBCOs. To further encourage bottom-up community solutions to pressing social issues, in his 2005 State of the Union address, the President announced the Helping America’s Youth (HAY) Initiative. Led by First Lady Laura Bush, HAY is a nationwide effort designed to:
Cherie Harder, special assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director of Projects for the First Lady, told the Roundtable, “[HAY] is not a government program, but it is an outreach effort…predicated on the idea that while it is very difficult for the government to create caring adults, one thing that we can do is connect them with the folks that need them. And the efforts behind helping America’s youth have been all involved with connection.” Since the HAY Initiative began, the White House has held one national HAY conference and four regional HAY conferences. In addition, Mrs. Bush has visited more than 20 youth-serving programs across the country. The HAY Initiative has also teamed up with an interagency group to create the Community Guide to Helping America’s Youth, an online tool to help community coalitions take action (www.helpingamericasyouth.gov). The Guide includes:
Harder said these resources are designed to bolster the efforts of grassroots organizations, leveraging the “best of public and private efforts,” to help the most vulnerable in our society. Harder added, “The First Lady thinks that one of the most important things that we can do is to really spotlight and thereby extend the work of highly effective faith-based and community initiatives,” enabling organizations like CNE to broaden their service to at-risk youth. To further explore the importance of, and the best approach to, public/private collaboration, Harder introduced panelists Michael Grebe and Dr. John Deasy, both of whom are involved in efforts to reduce youth violence. Panelist: Michael Grebe, President and CEO Speaking as a representative of the philanthropic community, Grebe emphasized the need for donors of all sizes, noting that the number of donors and monetary support will increase as the success of programs, like the VFZ initiative, become better known. As part of a multi-sector strategy, Grebe and CNE President Robert Woodson met with the superintendent and representatives of Milwaukee public schools to discuss the implementation of a VFZ program in several high schools. The superintendent showed support for the program and agreed to commit funding for the project. For its part, Grebe said the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation pledged to double the money committed by the superintendent, and help raise additional funding as needed. Grebe remarked that organizations like CNE are successful because they put forward non-ideological and non-partisan grassroots projects that enable a broader reach of support within their communities. Grebe encouraged public officials to look to the private sector for assistance, adding that programs like VFZ create a win-win situation for all involved – public officials, philanthropists, and, most importantly, America’s youth. Grebe concluded by praising the program for its ability to effect change with relatively little money, while maintaining accountability through its data review process. Dr. John Deasy, CEO Dr. John Deasy said the VFZ program implemented at one of his districts’ schools has shown dramatic results. Over the course of one year at Bladensburg High School, the number of incidents for which a student could be suspended dropped from 130 to 50. Dr. Deasy attributed the decline in youth violence and truancy rates to the program’s use of youth advisors who entered the school with no other objective than to help the students. “I would rather, any day, invest in a model that is preventative than have to put more cops in schools to criminalize the kind of response that we have. They of course have a role and I understand that, but the investment beforehand makes more sense,” Dr. Deasy explained. Dr. Deasy said that although today’s students deal with some extremely difficult challenges, from having a parent in jail to working two jobs so their family can eat, they still express a strong desire to learn and to be challenged academically. His students tell him, “I matter and I need people to know that I matter in school.” Violence-Free Zone youth advisors are able to develop relationships with the students so that their voices, fears, and concerns are heard. This system of support helps students make better decisions and helps educators do their job, which Dr. Deasy said is to make sure “every single one of the youth can be successful.” John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, thanked the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise for its service to at-risk youth. Walters noted that, to some, CNE’s Violence Free Zone program might seem like a questionable proposition. He explained, “When, Bob [CNE President Bob Woodson], some of you go to schools and say, ‘You know we can help you with violence. We are going to bring ex-offenders and drug dealers and gang members into your school.’ They [school administrators] don’t hear anything after that point. They’re saying, who put this appointment on my schedule? Why did I take this call? And what the heck is going on here?” Walters said the program actually makes sense because some youth advisors have overcome the same challenges confronted by at-risk students. They can relate to students in ways others cannot, and they restore a sense of hope in the lives of those who are often surrounded by destruction. Walters said one of the greatest blessings of his job is to meet with people in drug treatment programs who bravely battle their addiction. If someone ever grows weary or loses faith, Walters tells them to, “…go to a drug treatment center. Go to an AA meeting or an NA meeting because if you think that miracles don’t happen anymore, go there and hear people talk about the nightmare of their lives that they had to pull together.” This message of hope is one that needs to reach America’s youth, and it’s a message being delivered in schools throughout the nation by faith-based and community organizations. Walters added that “many times, I know many of you in the programs you are working in ultimately got called in not because you were the first choice, but because it was so bad they said, ‘well, heck, let’s bring in the people of faith.’” Acknowledging their willingness to work in difficult environments, Walters pointed out that these groups operate not just on faith, but on a firm belief in results. He explained, “We’re accused of sometimes being concerned about faith groups because we have a hidden agenda. I think what’s been clear in the conversation here today is [that] everybody who works in this field wants to stand on their results. They’re not asking you to have the same faith as them or to back their faith, or to do anything else. You may have your own beliefs, you may have other beliefs in the course of working together, but it’s about being willing to stand on the results of your work. That’s something we can all come together on in this area.” Walters thanked Roundtable participants, “for the lives you save, the children you reach, and for allowing us an opportunity to learn and allowing us an opportunity, in a small way, to be minor contributors to your work.” Walters said President Bush’s commitment to their cause would never waver because, as the President knows, “there is no other way.” Federal Strategies to Reduce Youth Violence The Gang Reduction Program The Gang Reduction Program (GRP) is a demonstration project sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) with the goal of reducing youth gang crime and violence in targeted neighborhoods. This is accomplished by helping communities take an integrated approach in five areas:
The Gang Reduction Program has several key concepts:
Summaries of the GRP demonstration sites are provided in the Appendix. COORDINATING COUNCIL ON JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELIQUENCY PREVENTION The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP) Act established the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Council) as an independent body within the executive branch of the Federal government. The Council's primary functions are to coordinate Federal juvenile delinquency prevention programs, Federal programs and activities that detain or care for unaccompanied juveniles, and Federal programs relating to missing and exploited children. The Council also examines how programs, including gang prevention programs, if applicable, can be coordinated to better serve at-risk youth. The Council, which is chaired by the Attorney General, meets quarterly and at the call of its Chair. The Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) serves as the Council's Vice Chair. The Council, as restructured by the 1992 amendments to the JJDP Act, is comprised of nine ex officio members and nine non-Federal members who are juvenile justice practitioners. The ex officio members are the Attorney General; the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and Housing and Urban Development; the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service; and the Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of Homeland Security. The President may designate other key Federal officials with significant decision-making authority to serve on the Council. The Council's priorities are focused on the following:
TEENS AND THE LAW–GANG PREVENTION CURRICULUM Street Law, Inc. began in 1972 as a practical law curriculum designed as part of a clinical project by a group of Georgetown University law students. Due to the positive response from Washington, D.C. public high school students who took the course and the law students who taught it, this law school/high school partnership model was expanded to all D.C. high schools. A unique blend of content and methodology, Street Law uses techniques that promote cooperative learning, critical thinking, and the ability to participate in a democratic society. For over 30 years, Street Law, Inc.'s programs and curricula have promoted knowledge of legal rights and responsibilities, engagement in the democratic process, and belief in the rule of law, among both youth and adults. Building on Street Law Inc.'s long history of law related education for youth, this 15-session curriculum is targeted towards at-risk youth and can be delivered in settings such as community-based programs or residential facilities. The curriculum features topics of crime and consequences, decision making and problem solving, negotiation and conflict resolution, and identifying safe and unsafe situations. Drawing on the experience of a collection of local gang prosecutors from across the country, this manual presents essential information, tips, and guidance for local prosecutors handling cases involving gang related activities. Topics include law enforcement's impact on successful prosecution, theories of liability and investigation, filing and presenting the case, and sentencing issues. OJJDP is working with DOJ’s Criminal Division and its Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to coordinate this publication with related and existing resources. MENTORING PROGRAM In the last 3 years, over $147 million have been awarded to grantees across the nation through the mentoring program. To be funded, local comprehensive strategies must, at the very least, address the following six elements:
SAFE AND DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES: STATE FORMULA GRANTS AND GOVERNORS’ GRANTS The State formula grants provide support to State Educational Associations (SEAs) for a variety of drug and violence-prevention activities focused primarily on school-age youths. SEAs are required to distribute 93 percent of funds to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) for drug and violence-prevention activities authorized under the statute. Activities frequently funded by this program include: staff training; student instruction; curriculum development or acquisition; parent education and involvement; conflict resolution; peer mediation and student assistance programs, such as counseling, mentoring, identification, and referral services. In addition, governors are provided with funding to support programs that serve youths and children not normally served by SEAs and LEAs. These may include populations that need special or additional resources, such as youths in juvenile detention facilities, runaway or homeless youths, pregnant and parenting teenagers, and school dropouts. Governors use their program funds to provide support to local education agencies (LEAs), community-based organizations, and other public and private nonprofit entities for drug and violence prevention activities that complement the SEA and LEA portion of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities program. In the last 3 years, $1.19 billion worth of activities have been funded through these programs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services COMMUNITIES EMPOWERING YOUTH The Department of Health and Human Services awarded $30 million to 100 organizations in FY 2006 under Communities Empowering Youth (CEY), a new program created in response to the Helping America’s Youth (HAY) Initiative. The CEY strategy is to combat youth violence and gang activity by strengthening the organizational capacity of faith-based and community organizations and coalitions that are working to reduce such activity in their communities. The CEY program strengthens broad-based collaborative community coalitions so that they are better able to address the myriad issues that disadvantaged youth face in their community. To encourage community partnerships, the CEY program works through a lead organization that partners with faith-based and community organizations. Capacity building activities improve services to youth by strengthening the organizational capacity and increasing the sustainability of the lead organization and its partners. It also helps CEY grantees and their partners to coordinate with other State and local youth service agencies and local law enforcement. The CEY program is part of the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), a cornerstone of President Bush’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative. The primary purpose of CCF is to help faith-based and community organizations increase their effectiveness, enhance their ability to provide social services, expand their organizations, and create collaborations to better serve those in need. Since this program began in 2003, approximately $158 million has been awarded to grantees to provide new mentors to children and youth of incarcerated parents. Over 40,000 mentors and children have been matched so far, on track with the target of 100,000 matches by fiscal year 2008. In FY 2006, HHS awarded approximately $11.2 million to 76 organizations under the MCP program. Approximately $27 million is expected to be awarded in FY 2007. In its youth programs, FYSB encourages communities to support young people through Positive Youth Development (PYD). PYD suggests that all young people can grow into successful adults if they have a supportive environment in which to build skills, exercise leadership, and contribute to their communities. Using this PYD strategy, FYSB provides the Street Outreach Program under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs. The Street Outreach Program funds local youth service providers that conduct street-based education and outreach. Also included are providers that offer emergency shelter and related services to young people who have been, or who are at risk of being, sexually abused or exploited. With the goal of helping young people leave the streets, outreach teams go to the places frequented by youth, educating them about services available to them and providing them with basic necessities. Resources provided to these youth include: food, clothing, access to emergency shelter, health care referrals, mental health services, and substance abuse counseling. In FY 2006, the Street Outreach Program funded 140 programs with $13.6 million. Approximately $8.6 million is expected to be awarded in FY 2007. To complement its runaway and homeless youth services, FYSB’s research and demonstration projects enhance knowledge about key issues in serving young people and build capacity in the youth service field. The Bureau’s Positive Youth Development State and Local Collaboration Demonstration Projects encourage cooperation between State governments and local community jurisdictions or Tribes, with the goal of increasing opportunities and improving outcomes for young people. In 2003, five-year grants were awarded to 9 States: Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, and Oregon. In FY 2006, $1.9 million was available for the program. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention also addresses youth violence using a systematic process called the public health approach. This approach has four steps: define the problem, identify risk and protective factors, develop and test prevention strategies, and assure widespread adoption of prevention principles and strategies. Through the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, the CDC uses this approach to develop and implement many youth violence prevention tools. Among these tools is the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, an online source for information and materials. Developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other Federal partners, the Resource Center provides current information developed by Federal agencies or with Federal support pertaining to youth violence. A gateway for professionals, parents, youth, and other interested individuals, the Resource Center offers the latest tools to facilitate discussion with children, to resolve conflicts nonviolently, to stop bullying, to prevent teen suicide, and to end violence committed by and against young people. Resources include fact sheets, best practices documents, funding and conference announcements, statistics, research bulletins, surveillance reports, and profiles of promising programs and can be accessed through the Center’s website (www.safeyouth.org), toll-free hotline, and fax-on-demand service. Corporation for National and Community Services The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has helped small faith- and community-based groups dramatically increase their capacity to engage at-risk youth in service while empowering young people to be part of the solution to the problems they see in their communities. CNCS works to provide caring adults as mentors for youth from disadvantaged circumstances and to provide more opportunities for all of America’s youth to serve. CNCS leverages national service resources to develop meaningful partnerships with our Federal, State and community youth service partners. Our goal is to improve the lives of youth by providing meaningful opportunities to serve and by meeting their most pressing needs, whether academic, environmental, health-related, or social. The Corporation seeks to meet the needs of our nation’s youth by:
Parents and families are the first and most important influence in a child’s life, providing a system of love and support. CNCS acknowledges and seeks to strengthen and reinforce parental engagement in youth development. While it is essential that our nation ensure all youth receive the services that will support their positive transition into adulthood, it is also important to appreciate the powerful benefits that youth engaged in service can provide their communities and our nation. Over the next 5 years, CNCS will engage over 3 million youth from at-risk environments in national and community service. These opportunities—to become involved in meaningful volunteer and service activities—enable youth to experience the joy and satisfaction of laying aside their own needs to meet the needs of others. Such lessons are irreplaceable and help to instill the spirit and value of community, which contributes to their sense of civic responsibility as adults.Appendix I: Violence Free Zones Sites Atlanta, Georgia Visions Unlimited was founded by retired schoolteacher, Gwendolyn Poles Sands, with the mission of providing exemplary programs and services to meet the mind, spirit, and body needs of youth and their families in an environment of love and mutual respect. The organization primarily serves youth and families that reside in Northwest Atlanta. Visions Unlimited has brought the VFZ initiative to Atlanta’s Ben Carson and Harper Archer Middle Schools with positive results. School fights were reduced by 50 percent between April and November from the previous comparable time period, and hallway and classroom disciplinary actions cut to 50 for the last week of school compared to more than 200 the first week. Visions Unlimited’s programs include after-school, weekend, and summer programs that engage the entire community from the ages of 5 through 80. They include academic and social development, career development, community mobilization, and family strengthening. Activities include tutoring, creative journal writing, cultural events, field trips, sports, arts and crafts, computer training, auto technician training, and health fairs. The Dare to Soar program involves the entire family in weekly group sessions and addresses values, leadership, problem solving, and other important areas of character development. Visions Unlimited joined with CNE to become a Violence Free Zones partner in 2004. Baltimore, Maryland New Vision Youth Services was founded by Billy Stanfield, with a vision to reach the community positively by addressing issues that hinder social, physical, economic, cultural, and spiritual growth of youth in Baltimore. The organization’s mission is to change the cultural environment of at-risk youth in an effort to eliminate violent and destructive behavior in the city. In partnership with the CNE, New Vision offers a continuum of in-and-out-of-school support to children and youth enrolled in Frederick Douglass and Vivien T. Thomas High Schools in southwest Baltimore. Both schools are identified as experiencing high rates of violent and disruptive activity among students. New Vision’s mission is to change the cultural environment of at-risk youth in an effort to eliminate violent and destructive behavior in the city. Focusing on high-risk children and youth, New Vision offers character development activities to help establish appropriate values, beliefs, and character. Youth Advisors work in the school to assist students, teachers, and principals in bringing civil order and promoting education. New Vision Youth Services began its partnership with CNE to become a Violence Free Zones partner in 2005. Vision Regeneration was launched in 1997 by Omar Jahwar after he had worked for 5 years in a Texas youth detention facility as a gang intervention specialist. Encouraged by CNE, he started his program in the community to stop youth violence and reach young people before they got into serious trouble. He found that former gang leaders, whose lives had been transformed, could use their leadership skills to become agents of peace. Vision Regeneration’s mission is to reach at-risk youths and transform their values, attitudes, morals, and future. With a variety of school-based and community programs, it serves middle and high school students in the South Dallas community. Mr. Jahwar noticed that the VFZ initiative could have an enormous impact in the schools, because it was where rival groups came together, often erupting into violence. At the request of the school system, Vision Regeneration’s VFZ initiative presently operates in 10 South Dallas schools. The Vision-VFZ program hires ex-offenders, who once terrorized their communities, and gives them the opportunity to positively impact young lives. These young men and women mentor teens at-risk for a life of violence, drugs, and crime. They provide social civility by stabilizing gang peace in the community. VFZ has positively impacted drop out rates, attendance, improved grades, and truancy. Since its inception as a pilot program with the Dallas Public Schools in 2000, the VFZ has become a model that the U.S. Department of Justice has embraced. Starting with one of Dallas’ most violent schools, James Madison High, Vision Program schools have had significant reductions in violence, and corresponding increases in academic achievement. Vision has surrounded itself with partners who have a vested interest in minimizing gang violence. Its partners include the Dallas Housing Authority, the Real Estate Council, South Dallas Trust Fund, King of Glory, the Foundation for Community Empowerment, Fannie Mae Foundation, and the Enterprise Foundation. Vision Regeneration became a Violence-Free Zones partner in 1999. Since its founding in 1999, the Latino Community Center (LCC) has grown quickly from one small after-school program to 10 fully developed programs serving community members of all ages. Unique in the city of Milwaukee, VFZ street outreach and gang prevention workers go out on the streets to meet the kids in the afternoon and evening when activity is greatest. LCC also uses hip-hop and other culturally-specific references to draw youth into its building where they are then connected to fun and safe academic, recreational, social, and cultural activities. Director Ramon Candelaria, VFZ program director Gary Graika, and other staff members come from the same neighborhood LCC serves. The near south side of Milwaukee is one of the most disadvantaged parts of the city and an area where gang activity, particularly among rival Latino gangs, is rampant. LCC has incorporated innovative techniques that attract over 1,800 youth each year. Their efforts include a Street Outreach Initiative that searches for those that have been mislead to negative lifestyles. The outreach efforts also include local schools, nonprofits, and churches. LCC’s strength is the staff’s ability to tap into any individual’s struggle and fill the void that is causing misbehavior. This allows opportunities for personal/professional success. LCC offers programming in the following areas: after school academic enrichment, gang and violence diversion, recreation, technology training, environmental education, youth development, prevention programming, street outreach, healthy girls, and adult enrichment programs. The strength of LCC lies in a strong grassroots community approach. The majority of the staff and volunteers were raised and continue to live in the neighborhood that they serve. The agency is made up of highly competent bicultural/bilingual staff, which is strongly committed to the organization and the community. LCC joined with CNE to become a Violence-Free Zones partner in 2005. Washington, DC and Prince George’s County, Maryland The East Capitol Center for Change (ECCC) is a youth and family development organization that runs the majority of its programs in Wards 7 & 8 (“East of the River”) in Washington, D.C. At the invitation of the Prince George’s County Public Schools Board and staff, ECCC expanded into Prince George’s County. ECCC’s activities serve children in the context of their families, and families in the context of their communities. ECCC supports young people as they grow into successful adults through activities that promote mentor relationships with positive adults and that prevent teen pregnancy and involvement in drugs and violence. They support the health and well-being of whole families by promoting strong relationships and marriages in the communities we serve. They also seek to improve family self-sufficiency and standard of living through innovative training, education, employment, and links to community development programs. In addition, ECCC promotes community service as a lifelong pursuit through opportunities for family and extended-family involvement in community-building and other civic activities. ECCC has launched an array of programs that serve individuals and families in Southeast Washington, D.C. and nearby Prince George’s County, Maryland. At the present time, the VFZ initiative is underway at H.D. Woodson Senior High School in Washington, DC, and at Bladensburg and Largo High Schools in Prince George’s County, MD. Since its founding in 1997 by Curtis Watkins, ECCC has worked in partnership with CNE. Appendix II: Gang Reduction program Demonstration Sites Los Angeles Gang Reduction Program Los Angeles GRP’s strategic plan was formulated with input from community partners and residents and included activities for prevention, intervention/reentry, and suppression. The plan included the creation of a Web-based client tracking system aimed at reducing duplication of services and increasing efficiencies in service provision. In addition, GRP provided training for case managers in risk- and needs-based assessment and motivational interviewing. This has allowed for the Los Angeles County Probation Department to offer consistency in case planning with probation-level clients at the intervention/reentry level of service. Los Angeles GRP has also partnered with the Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Movement in operating a One-Stop Resource Center in the target area. Case Management, counseling, educational and employment services, after-school and recreational activities, mentoring, prenatal and infancy support, early college awareness programs, and service referrals are available through community-based organizations at the Center. Prevention activities are focused on providing youth with alternatives and support to prevent or resist gang involvement. Those activities include:
Intervention and reentry activities are primarily case-managed by a multidisciplinary assessment team, with street outreach as a major component to recruit and support youth assigned to the team. Other intervention services for active gang members in the Los Angeles plan include:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Gang Reduction Program Milwaukee GRP worked closely with project partners to identify strategies and activities that address risk factors contributing to gang membership. Their plan for this highly economically and service resource-depressed geographic area addresses the areas of prevention, intervention, and suppression. The plan addresses reentry youth through their intervention activities. That decision was based on the availability of a service vouchering system that is used to support intervention activities. Reentry activities are accessed through the site’s multidisciplinary intervention team to support counseling, job and skill training, and self-sufficiency needs on an individual client basis. The site is in partnership with Community Mapping and Analysis for Safety Strategies (COMPASS), which provides a Web-based case-management, data-tracking system for nonprofit organizations in Milwaukee. COMPASS was funded by the city of Milwaukee Community Block Grant Administration. This system assisted the project in linking all the project providers to one data system to maintain client-specific data for prevention and intervention services as well as suppression activities. Intervention and Reentry activities were centered on a multidisciplinary team approach to case management for active gang members. Street outreach was provided to recruit and support youth assigned to the team. The “Wraparound Milwaukee” model, an identified best practice, was used to establish a service vouchering system to support the multidisciplinary intervention team’s services to clients. Service vouchers were available for training, counseling, skills training, or other identified needs that promote and support self-sufficiency, including job training and placement and related concerns—such as tattoo removal and work attire—for gang members and those returning to the community from confinement. Prevention activities were heavily invested in by Milwaukee GRP due to the population and nature of the target area. Activities included:
North Miami Beach Gang Reduction Program The North Miami Beach GRP collaborated with key partners to develop a plan to prevent and reduce gang membership in the target area. Related activities in the areas of prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry to the community have been put in place to support the achievement of those goals. The project is implementing a case-management system, supported by case-management software, to track individual activities and achievements. The project serves all gang members, at-risk youth, and their families but focuses on the primary ethnic group in the target area—the Haitian population. Therefore, there is an emphasis on understanding the Haitian culture and providing services in the Creole language. Prevention activities are aimed at the broad at-risk population, with several appropriate activities also available to gang youth being served at the intervention level. The project also is involved in various community awareness activities. They recently opened a One-Stop Resource Center in partnership with the city. Current prevention activities include:
Intervention activities are centered on a multidisciplinary team providing intensive case management and street outreach to gang members and their families. Current activities for gang members include:
Richmond Gang Reduction Program Richmond GRP’s key strategies encompass the areas of prevention, intervention, suppression, and reentry to the community. There is also an emphasis on bridging cultural differences to prevent violence. Through a wide variety of contractual partnerships, Richmond GRP has implemented various activities and continues to seek out other opportunities to support gang prevention and reduction activities. Prevention activities are aimed at the broad population of families and youth who are at risk of becoming involved in gang and delinquent activity. Activities currently being implemented include:
Intervention activities are supported by a multidisciplinary team that conducts case-management activities, including street outreach to support gang youth, with the goal of providing an alternative to gang membership. Activities with individual youth are targeted toward that goal and tracked via case-management software. Related activities in place for gang members served by the intervention team include:
Appendix III: Compassion in Action Roundtable Agenda 3:00pm – 3:05pm Welcome and Introduction 3:05pm – 3:15pm Federal Strategies to Reduce Youth Violence 3:15pm – 3:20pm Video Presentation 3:20pm – 3:35pm National Violence Free Zone Project 3:35pm – 4:05pm Panel I: Violence Free Zone Program Administrators Panelist: Gwendolyn Poles Sands, CEO and Executive Director, Visions Unlimited, Atlanta, GA Panelist: Billy Stanfield, Founder and Executive Director, New Vision Youth Services, Baltimore, MD Panelist: Omar Jahwar, Founder Panelist: Ramon Candelaria, Executive Director Panelist: Curtis Watkins, Founder and President Moderator: Cherie Harder, Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and Director of Projects for the First Lady White House Panelist: Michael Grebe, President and CEO 4:35pm – 5:00pm Open Forum Discussion Appendix IV: Biographies of Participants Ramon Candelaria Ramon Candelaria is the executive director of the Latino Community Center in Milwaukee, WI. Prior to the Latino Community Center, he was a youth worker at the Milwaukee Christian Center for 11 years. Additionally, he worked with young people at the Milwaukee Community Service Corps, where he worked with first-time juvenile offenders and taught GED classes. He was born and raised on the south side of Milwaukee where he attended Kagel Elementary School and South Division High School, as well as St. Patrick’s Church. As a teen, his family sent him to live with his 80 year-old grandmother in Puerto Rico. Her example of reaching out to the poor and homeless around her, despite her own poverty and age changed his life profoundly. Mr. Candelaria returned to Milwaukee at age 20 at which time he went to work for the Milwaukee Christian Center and pursued his education. Mr. Candelaria holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he graduated in 1999. Dr. John E. Deasy Dr. John Deasy is the chief executive officer of Prince George’s County Public Schools, Maryland’s second largest school system and the nation’s 18th largest district. He leads an organization that offers more than 133,000 children an innovative, technology–infused curriculum that has produced significant academic gains. This diverse, urban school system serves children from 148 countries, speaking 140 different languages. More than 97,000 students are transported safely to and from school each day, and nutritious meals are prepared for 75,000 children daily. Prior to becoming CEO of PG County Public Schools, Dr. Deasy was the Superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District in California. In Santa Monica and elsewhere he has been a leader in the development of the standards-based administrator and teacher evaluation models, pay-for-performance, staff development and leadership training, development of a data-driven system for decision-making and implementation. Michael W. Grebe Mr. Grebe is president and CEO of The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. Jay F. Hein Omar Jahwar Omar Jahwar founded Vision Regeneration, Inc., a life-shaping entity which presently provides counseling and mentoring services to four Dallas Public schools. He was instrumental in creating Dallas’ first VFZ and is the first person to hold a recognized position within the State of Texas as Gang Interventionist. He has also spoken before Congress on grassroots solutions to youth crime, and is a grant recipient from the City of Dallas for youth crime initiatives and addressed a Russian delegation in St. Petersburg, Russia in December 2002 on the issue of youth violence. Mr. Jahwar spearheaded the first gang truce in Dallas between the “Crips” and “Bloods” in 2000 and recently addressed U.S. Justice Department officials and Washington, DC, principals on this important topic. He is the recipient of numerous accolades and awards including the “Key” to the city of Dallas in recognition for work in juvenile crime prevention and the White House Award for Achievement Against the Odds. Paul J. McNulty Gwendolyn Poles Sands Gwendolyn Sands is the CEO and executive director of Visions Unlimited, Inc. in Atlanta, GA. Since receiving a M.Ed. from Virginia State University in 1977, she has specialized in the development and implementation of prevention and intervention programs for at-promise youth and families. She founded Visions Unlimited in 2000 with the mission to provide exemplary programs and services to meet the mind, body, and spirit needs of youth and their families in an environment of love and mutual respect. Billy Stanfield Billy Stanfield is the founder and executive director of New Vision Youth Services, Inc, which implemented CNE’s Violence Free Zones Initiative at high schools in Baltimore, MD. Mr. Stanfield overcame a criminal background and near-fatal gun shot wounds, from which his doctors thought he would not be able to fully recover. Committed to turning his life around, Mr. Stanfield completed correspondence courses in theology and ministry, and now preaches at churches and at youth revivals around the country. He also speaks motivationally at high schools and penal facilities. John P. Walters John P. Walters became the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in December 2001. As the nation’s “Drug Czar,” Mr. Walters coordinates all aspects of Federal drug programs and spending. Since taking office, Mr. Walters has directed critical changes to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, making the ads harder-hitting and more effective. Award-winning ads linking drug trafficking with terrorism and ads focusing on the harms of marijuana have been credited with helping change youth attitudes and behavior toward drugs. Mr. Walters also led a restructuring of the Federal drug control budget so that it more accurately reflects the actual dollars spent on programs aimed at reducing drug use, making it a more useful tool for policymakers. Director Walters has overseen the creation and implementation of the “Access to Recovery” treatment initiative announced by President Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address. This innovative approach to drug treatment funding provides vouchers for hundreds of thousands of Americans struggling with addiction. Director Walters has extensive experience at ONDCP. From 1989 to 1991, he was chief of staff for William Bennett and was deputy director for Supply Reduction from 1991 until leaving the office in 1993. During his service at ONDCP, he was responsible for helping guide the development and implementation of anti-drug programs in all areas. From 1996 until 2001, Mr. Walters served as president of the Philanthropy Roundtable. The Roundtable is a national association of over 600 foundations and individual donors, providing publications and programs on American charitable giving. During the Reagan Administration, he served as assistant to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, and was responsible for leading the development of anti-drug programs. He was also the Secretary’s representative to the National Drug Policy Board and the Domestic Policy Council’s Health Policy Working Group. Curtis Watkins is the founder and president of East Capitol Center for Change (ECCC) since August, 1997. Prior to the ECCC, he was a corporate executive with the National Association of Realtors who volunteered his time to help young people in East Capitol Dwellings, a violence-ridden public housing development where he had grown up. When shooting erupted and a grandmother shielding children was killed in the crossfire, Watkins and the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise negotiated the peace and set about finding solutions. As a result, Mr. Watkins went to work full time in the community, and East Capitol Center for Change was born. Today, he plans and directs the day-to-day activities of ECCC to improve the quality of life for community residents. Robert Woodson, Sr. Robert Woodson, Sr. is the founder and president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE), which he founded in 1981 with the name National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise. Often referred to as the godfather of the movement to empower neighborhood-based organizations, Mr. Woodson’s social activism dates back to the 1960’s, when as a young civil rights activist, he developed and coordinated national and local community development programs. During the 70’s he directed the National Urban League’s Administration of Justice division and then served as a Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. For more than 40 years, Mr. Woodson has been a source of guidance and support for grassroots organizations around the world. He was instrumental in paving the way for resident management and ownership of public housing, and brought together task forces of grassroots groups to advise the 104th Congress, the Pennsylvania Legislature, and the Wisconsin Assembly. He is consulted by cabinet officials, numerous governors, members of Congress, academics, business leaders, and the news media. He has worked with youth intervention and violence prevention programs since the 1960’s and has written several books on the subject, including a Summons to Life. Among the many awards Mr. Woodson has received is the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. He is the author of hundreds of articles and several books, including The Triumphs of Joseph: How Community Healers are Reviving Our Streets and Neighborhoods.
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