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March 19, 2015 Newsletter
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 YMCA and SYVPI on Capitol Hill
Left to right: Congressman Tony Cardenas (D-CA), YMCA CEO Bob Gilbertson
and Rep. Reichert (R-WA), SYVPI Director Mariko Lockhart |
The Seattle YMCA hosted a briefing on Capitol Hill to educate Congressional staff on the crisis of youth violence and the important role of public-private partnerships like SYVPI in supporting young people who are at-risk for violence. Held in partnership with the Congressional Caucus on Crime Prevention and Youth Development, chaired by Congressman Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), who offered welcoming remarks.
Rep. Cárdenas said that as the first person of color to represent his district, he asked himself, "What are you going to do that is different?" He decided to dedicate his policy career to juvenile justice and to give proper attention to young people sooner rather than later. "We policy makers need to get it right," said Cárdenas. Rep. Reichert shared elements of his own personal story and commitment to attending to the needs of at risk youth. Impressed by the panel's comprehensive and collaborative approach to youth development and violence prevention, he invited them to present at Congressional Law Enforcement Caucus.
The YMCA panelists focused on education (including early learning and summer programs), nutrition, and mental health. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Chief of Staff Theron Pride participated in the Hill briefing providing information on related OJJDP programs. He noted how excited he is to welcome Seattle to OJJDP's National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention and expressed admiration for the comprehensive community-based approach our city has taken to reduce youth violence. SYVPI Director Mariko Lockhart described how public/private, multi-sector partnerships are the foundation of how the Initiative works. She highlighted the key role the YMCA played in developing the partnership with the Seattle Seahawks and Head Coach Pete Carroll.
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Youth Opportunity Summit
Saturday, April 11 8:30am - 4:30pm Rainier Beach High School, 8815 S. Seward Park Ave. Seattle, WA
Mayor Murray is convening an all-day Youth Opportunity Summit, focusing on improving outcomes for young men of color. The summit will explore how we can build on the good work of our community partners through better alignment of resources, better coordination across systems and agencies, and through lifting up the voices of young people to address longstanding disparities.
Seattle has committed to three related national initiatives:
- My Brother's Keeper, President Obama's community challenge to improve outcomes for young men of color;
- Cities United, an effort by the National League of Cities to reduce black male homicide;
- National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, an initiative of the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention that seeks to more effectively prevent youth and gang violence.
The Youth Opportunity Summit will also serve as a space for dialogue on how Seattle can connect to a larger national network of communities engaged in addressing disparities for young people of color, identify ways to improve our local strategies, and take action! For more information, visit the Youth Opportunity Summit website.
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My Brother's Keeper Follow - Up
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Left to right: Amanda Scott-Thomas, Tacoma Public Schools, Victoria Woodards, Tacoma City Council Member,
Michael Smith, Special Assistant to the President, Gregory Davis of Rainier Beach Moving Forward
and Mariko Lockhart, Director, SYVPI
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We are still inspired by the My Brother's Keeper convening in Washington, DC in February. Mariko Lockhart and Gregory Davis attended, along with many others in the region including Amanda Scott-Thomas, Director of Community Partnership, Academic Equity and Achievement for Tacoma Public Schools.
Amanda Scott-Thomas said about the convening:
"Overall it made me feel really good about my state...We don't have perfected
systems or a perfect community but we do have all the building blocks: an evolving common language, common goals, and a collaborative city that is focusing relentlessly on the same results. I came away with a deeper understanding that my city and my District are part of a national movement to develop ways for communities to drive achievement for all students..."
Gregory Davis of Rainier Beach Moving Forward also wrote of his experiences at the MBK convening in a recent article for the South Seattle Emerald. Check out his article here.
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Director's Corner
This month, I had th e opportunity to share the work of our SYVPI community partners at New Orleans' Annual Youth Violence Prevention Summit where I delivered the event's keynote address. It was exciting to share Seattle's comprehensive, coordinated, community-based approach to youth violence prevention, some lessons we've learned along the way and recent SYVPI developments.
This visit with our National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention sister city resulted from the invitation by Chris Gunther, Manager of Strategic Initiatives at the New Orleans Health Department. It was also a unique opportunity to learn about NOLA's (New Orleans, LA) strategies to address the pressing issue of youth violence in that city. As we've reported in previous issues, Seattle is one of five new member cities of the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention whose membership also includesBoston, Camden, Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Salinas, San Jose, Long Beach, Cleveland, Louisville, and Baltimore.
Chris invited us to use the occasion of the Summit to conduct a National Forum peer-to-peer site visit to learn about some of the key components of New Orleans' comprehensive murder reduction strategy called NOLA FOR LIFE. SYVPI's research partner, Sarah Walker of University of Washington's Public Behavioral Health and Justice Policy and the YMCA's Director of Government Affairs and former Alive & Free Street Outreach Director, Eleuthera Lisch accompanied me on the site visit during the day and a half before the summit.
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| | A group of people pledging to stop the violence at CeaseFire |
With one of the highest murder rates in the country, New Orleans has taken on the problem head on with a citywide, multi-sector approach. NOLA FOR LIFE has five pillars that span the continuum of prevention, intervention, enforcement and re-entry:
- Stop the Shootings
- Invest in Prevention
- Promote Jobs and Opportunity
- Get Involved and Rebuild
- Strengthen the New Orleans Police Department
Sarah led a discussion on SYVPI's risk assessment tool with NOLA for Life partners and staff. Members of NOLA FOR LIFE's team briefed us on their Group Violence Reduction Strategy based on David Kennedy's call in model; their Comprehensive Workforce Reentry Program; and CeaseFire New Orleans.
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| | Sarah Walker and Mariko Lockhart signing the CeaseFire pledge |
After in-depth meetings with the CeaseFire street outreach workers at their hospital site and CeaseFire headquarters, we signed the group's pledge, "We pledge not to abuse, hit or shoot anyone. We'll use our influence to Maintain the Peace." This team is doing amazing work that is already resulting in decreased violence after only a few years: in 2014, New Orleans had the lowest number of murders the city has seen in over 40 years.
There is clearly much more rich information sharing and partnership with this great city. We hope to host a NOLA delegation to Seattle in the future!
Mariko Lockhart
Director, SVYPI
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Have a community event you want to share? List it on the SYVPI Community Event Calendar. You can also sign up to receive a weekly summary of events!
Any event listed on the SYVPI Community Calendar is also listed on the seattle.gov.community events calendar!
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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.
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