Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative News

News from Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative | August 2, 2013

Learning Work Skills Through Art

SYVPI is delighted that in 2013, for the first time since the Initiative was established, we are partnering with the City of Seattle's Office of Arts and Culture on new youth arts-work readiness programs. SYVPI received expansion funding this year that enables us to enroll an additional 225 youth, including the paid employment opportunities available through this new collaboration. Other expanded internship opportunities through the City of Seattle's Human Services Department include fall group projects with current SYVPI employment providers.

The arts-work readiness program jobs offer training in a range of artistic skills--from woodworking to public presentations--in tandem with general job skills such as appropriate workplace behavior. Following is a list, by network, of funded projects.

In the Central Network:

Job Skills Students at
The Center for Wooden Boats

Crafting Boats and Job Skills in South Lake Union

The Center for Wooden Boats
October 5 - November 23

Students will craft a traditional wooden boat. In the process, they will develop technical proficiency in wood working, wood refinishing, group management and leadership, on-the-water skills, and employment skills training. 10 youth.

Design Your (Neighbor) Hood (DYH)

Seattle Art Museum

July 29 - September 21

DYH is an intensive, multi-session workshop focused on art, urban design, and community change. Teens will learn from and work with design professionals to create their own project for public presentation. 15 youth.

Sawhorse Revolution at Judkins P-Patch

Rubicon Foundation

September 10 - October 17

Working with experienced instructors, eight high school students will learn aesthetic elements of design, and develop carpentry and woodworking skills while constructing a garden shelter for the community P-patch. For seven weeks, students will meet twice weekly for three-hour workshops. They will develop carpentry and woodworking skills as they build a shelter at Judkins P-Patch. All workshops are taught and supported by experienced carpentry instructors and mentors. 8 youth.

History of Seattle Seahawks: A Video Documentary

Multimedia Resources and Training Institute

August 5 - November 20

Youth will produce a video history of the Seattle Seahawks, utilizing multimedia cameras, editing software, and library research technology. The project will include a field trip to Seahawks training camp, and RadioActive KUOW 94.9. 10 youth.

In the Southwest Network:

Unified Outreach - Concepts Offering

Lives of Respectability Everyone Deserves

Unified Outreach

July 29 - September 13

Youth will take on roles of artists and arts administrators in order to produce an industry-level fashion show where behind the scenes and preparation work is as important as the show itself. Elements include set design, graphics, web, video, music, sound/lighting, and more. 10 youth.

Youngstown Cultural Arts Center - Site of Delridge Mural Project

Delridge Mural Project

Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association

July 29 - August 23

SYVPI students will work with professional teaching artists to develop, design, and create murals on 12 Seattle Department of Transportation signal boxes at intersections along Delridge Way SW. The project will culminate in the painting of a 210-foot-long mural at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. 8 youth.

In the Southeast Network:

Rainier Valley Arts Project

Urban Impact

August 6 - November 2

Youth will learn and practice photography, dance, graphic design, and music production, and incorporate elements of each into two events. Marketing, advertising, and event planning will also be included as they showcase their art projects. 12 youth.

The Rainier Beach Story Guild

Rainier Beach Community Empowerment Coalition

August 1 - November 15

The Rainier Beach Story Guild will engage a team of local youth in exploring the art of story-telling through various media and modes of expression as a channel for both personal and community growth. 10 youth.

Regional Meeting an Opportunity to Showcase Efforts

Seattle has been selected as the location for the September 25 & 26, 2013 meeting of recent recipients in the western region of grants from the U.S. Department of Justice Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) Program.

The meeting is being organized by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), which serves as the national training and technical assistance provider for new Byrne grant recipients. LISC's local affiliate, Impact Capital, is assisting in organizing the meeting and will share their expertise in building sustainable communities.

The generously designated western region includes Austin, Portland, San Antonio, San Bernardino, and Seattle. Each of the participating cities will send two or three representatives, ideally including the site coordinator and researcher.

SYVPI was awarded a $978,000 Byrne grant in September 2012 for a project which started this January. Known as Rainier Beach: A Beautiful, Safe Place for Youth, it will identify "hot spots" of juvenile crime in the Rainier Beach neighborhood, and then, with help from the community, devise non-arrest intervention strategies to reduce crime in these locations.

For the research and evaluation component of the project, the city is partnering with George Mason University's Center for Evidence-based Crime Policy to identify juvenile violence hot spots and their root causes. SYVPI's partners, the Seattle Neighborhood Group, Boys and Girls Club of King County, and Rainier Beach Community Empowerment Coalition/Rainier Beach Moving Forward, will use the research findings to develop a tailored approach for addressing these hot spots.

Interventions might include improvements to the physical environment, economic development, policy changes, as well as enhanced social activities for youth and access to jobs. It will build on the existing work of SYVPI and the Rainier Beach Neighborhood Plan Update.

While this meeting has a focused agenda, it will also provide an opportunity for SYVPI to showcase our project efforts to date, and to introduce fellow grantees to the Rainier Beach neighborhood.

###

Divider

Safe Youth, Safe Community is a newsletter published by the Seattle Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. Our mission is to prevent and reduce youth violence, which has disproportionately affected communities of color in Seattle, through coordinated community mobilization to identify youth at risk of perpetuating or being a victim of violence and connect them with needed support in reaching their full potential. For more information, please visit our website www.safeyouthseattle.org.