Spotlight on Forum Communities
Baltimore
The B’more for Youth Collaborative! is the product of collaboration among local, state, and federal partners, and identifies root causes and recommends a coordinated, multi-sector, multi-tiered approach.
Plan summary | Full report (PDF, 60 pages)
Boston
Through interagency communication and information-sharing, civic engagement conducted citywide, and multidisciplinary and data driven strategies, Boston is working to prevent youth violence. Boston has a vision for reductions in youth violence, opportunities for youth and their families, and an improved quality of life.
Plan summary | Full report (PDF, 81 pages)
Camden
Camden recognizes we must break the cycle of poverty and hopelessness — which are often the root causes of violence — by addressing the urgent public safety issues in our community through a comprehensive, full scale, long-term approach to violence prevention.
Full report (PDF, 38 pages)
Chicago
Chicago is developing strategies to strengthen a coordinated city response to violence. Chicago is working to reduce the likelihood that Chicago public school students will be involved in violent incidents — on or off school grounds — and increase the opportunities for students to excel academically in a safe, secure, and supportive school environment.
Cleveland
The City of Cleveland recognizes that while there are many promising and evidence-based programs and initiatives already in place in our community, there exists a need for better systemic coordination of existing and new efforts to maximize limited resources, eliminate redundant efforts, and direct programs and initiatives to areas and populations of need, while maintaining existing evidence-based efforts by focusing on the quality, effectiveness and sustainability of programs and services.
Plan summary | Full plan (PDF, 50 pages)
Detroit
Detroit envisions a city where youth and education are valued, it is safe to walk the streets, conflicts are resolved nonviolently, and young men and women have real job and career opportunities. The city recognizes that part of what they must do as a community is to shift the frame from one where youth are seen as the problem to one where they are seen as part of the positive future of our city.
Long Beach
Safe Long Beach is a plan that examines existing evidence-based prevention strategies and practices. It assesses how the existing citywide resources, services, and programs are being utilized and recommends how to coordinate these services in an effective and efficient manner.
Louisville
This plan puts forth 5 goals aimed at reducing youth involvement, exposure and impact of homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults using the balanced and coordinated PIER (Prevention, Intervention, Enforcement and Re-Entry) approach in 5 systemic areas: community building, education, employment and economic development, health and social wellness and juvenile and criminal justice.
Plan summary | Full report (PDF, 40 pages)
Memphis
Memphis has a vision of a city in which all children and youth are valued and nurtured by strong families and communities, and are fully prepared for lifelong success. In collaboration with multiple partners, they are working to articulate and implement a plan to prevent youth violence, intervene with youth at high risk for offending, implement enforcement strategies, and assist youth returning from incarceration.
Plan summary | Full report (PDF, 55 pages)
Minneapolis
The Blueprint is a community-driven, grassroots response to the issue of youth violence. This collaborative, multi-level approach integrates programming that is designed to serve diverse populations. The Blueprint includes a list of existing and new activities informed by public health principles and aligned with the National Forum framework of prevention, early intervention, re-entry and reinforcement.
Full report (PDF, 36 pages)
New Orleans
The NOLA FOR LIFE PLAYbook: Promoting Life for All Youth is a strategic plan for action to prevent youth violence. Nested within the existing framework of NOLA FOR LIFE the PLAYbook's aim is to improve youth safety by addressing risk and protective factors for youth violence.
Full report (PDF, 102 pages)
Philadelphia
Every young person in Philadelphia has a fundamental right to live in a safe neighborhood with the opportunity to realize a fulfilling adult life. To prevent youth violence in Philadelphia, we will strive to create safe environments that support the development of healthy, thriving, productive citizens through a city-wide, multi-disciplinary approach aligning prevention, intervention, enforcement, re-entry, and data evaluation efforts.
Salinas
Salinas is framing a multi-pronged strategy to address gang violence and related problems — efforts are underway to promote positive youth development, connect law enforcement and the community in designing shared solutions, create a safe school environment and strong collaborations with support agencies, and address drug and alcohol abuse.
Plan summary | Full report (PDF, 44 pages)
San José
The City of San José remains one of the “safest big cities in America” due in large part to the sustained efforts of the Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force (MGPTF). The MGPTF, one of San José’s leading grass-roots initiatives and a nationally recognized model, addresses issues of gang violence, and provides support to gang-involved youth and their families.
Plan summary | Full report (PDF, 35 pages)
Seattle
The Seattle Youth Opportunity Initiative strategic plan is the result of many community stakeholders providing their input on the priority needs of youth and young adults, what service gaps exist and what strategies are recommended to address them.
Plan summary | Full report (PDF, 32 pages)