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Coalition and city partners plan summer trainings, outreach cookouts and events to reach youth in high-need areas
Summary
Office of Violence Prevention and coalition committees described planned community trainings, a relaunch of the Choose Wisdom campaign, summer cookouts and a Safe Summer outreach initiative intended to engage youth and residents in high-need ZIP codes.
City Office of Violence Prevention staff and community partners told the Rock Against Gun Violence Coalition they plan community trainings, outreach events and a relaunch of an earlier prevention campaign this summer to extend violence-prevention work into neighborhoods.
Zeke, an Office of Violence Prevention staff member, said the office has partnered with a community settlement center to provide in-person community training sessions later this summer and is marketing a training curriculum to reach residents beyond the agency’s direct service contacts. Zeke called the community trainings a way to “close that gap” between program work with youth and supports in the home.
Zeke also reported on a June 6 Wear Orange anti-gun-violence event that he said had strong turnout and involved groups including Rise Up and Moms Demand Action. He said the office will relaunch the Choose Wisdom campaign — previously led by the late Victor Saunders — and will hold related events this summer.
Youth-committee members proposed neighborhood cookouts and small-scale gatherings in high-crime ZIP codes to engage young people and offer food, music and resource connections. Septimus said coordinated, weekly outreach by different organizations could sustain a presence in target ZIP codes without duplicating effort and that he had started aligning research and agency contacts to support that work.
Wanda Ridgeway (Pathways outreach) announced a collaborative Safe Summer initiative — “walk, talk and pray” outreach starting Thursday at the Ryan Center — and offered to share corrected event flyers and coordinate with youth committee plans.
Leslie from Pick reported crisis-intervention contacts for May: 668 people served between May 1 and May 31 for calls and responses, and said staff are continuing street outreach to provide water and snacks to unhoused residents during hot weather.
Coalition leaders encouraged members and partner organizations to send event dates and program details to coalition staff so committees can coordinate calendars, support partner events and avoid scheduling conflicts. The coalition plans to circulate the resource guide within weeks and to continue coordinating summer outreach; no formal policy change was voted on during the meeting.
