News

On Tuesday, December 6th, 6-8pm, the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute would like to invite you to join them for the official release of "Always In My Heart": A Workbook for Grieving Children written by Clementina Chery. The workbook is $10.95 and can be purchased at the Peace Institute or online at www.lulu.com (search for "Always in My Hear"). Please also share this with the families you work with.  

We hope that many of you already subscribe to the monthly YVSP Updates that we email out (if you're not signed up, email yvspforums@egc.org!).  Now we are also posting the main articles from those updates here on our website.  Check those out at gettingtotheroots.org/updates!

YVSP's October Update has been published.  In it, we take a look back at the last year.  Click here to see the October Update and to sign up to recieve an email version of future updates.

The Boston Faith & Justice Network is sponsoring an event to show how localized economic development helped revitalize Egleston Square and reduced neighborhood violence. 

When: Thursday, October 6 from 7 PM - 9 PM
Where: St. Mary's of the Angels Roman Catholic Church (377 Walnut Avenue, Boston, MA 02119)

For more information, click here.

An article on YVSP has been featured in a public health journal published by Johns Hopkins called Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education and Action.¹  The article, entitled "A Community-Based Systems Learning Approach to Understanding Youth Violence in Boston," is now available for download, as is the accompanying editorial!

Download the Article

Download the Editorial

This academic article was co-authored by some people you may know from the Project: Khary Bridgewater, Steve Peterson, John McDevitt, David Hemenway, Jeffrey Bass, Paul Bothwell, and Ros Everdell. We are pleased with the positive reception of this article.

The same publication contains a featured editorial on YVSP praising the work of the communities that helped bring about the YVSP Model, saying that “this level of innovation is unprecedented in most youth prevention research programs.”  They urge us on in our community-based and relational approach saying, “active and effective listening, communication building, and respect need to be encouraged at every stage of community-based prevention/intervention efforts. Only then will we get serious about youth violence prevention.”

¹Copyright © 2011 The Johns Hopkins University Press.  The article first appeared in PROGRESS IN COMMUNITY HEALTH PARTNERSHIPS: RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ACTION, volume 5, Issue 1, Spring, 2011, pages 3-5 and 67-75.

The Youth Violence Systems Project is hosting an Academic Forum May 27th. We are convening a diverse group of academics for the Forum, in order to present the project, dialogue across disciplinary boundaries, and collect expert insights and suggestions on potential next steps, both locally and more broadly.

Connecting the Disconnected: A Survey of Youth and Young Adults in Grove Hall is a recent study commissioned by the city of Boston and implemented by Project R.I.G.H.T., the Boston Ten Point Coalition, Health Resources in Action, andthe Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center.  The study's objective was to better understand the challenges of "disconnected" young adults and to inform a better system of community resources for youth trying to finish school and find employment.  

Connecting the Disconnected is exceptional both because 1,050 youth participated in the survey and because 11 youth living in Grove Hall collaborated in the survey's design, administration and analysis.  It's findings illuminate the way that employment, education, violence, and family support shape the lives of youth in Grove Hall, as well as the overall health of the community.  

Read and download the report here. 

On December 9^th, 2010, over 60 youth, youth workers, community members, and representatives of community organizations from the neighborhoods of Boston came out to participate in a Community Forum hosted by the Youth Violence Systems Project.  We shared visions for peace, heard from community groups that have been working with the YVSP Computer Model, saw the unveiling of a new version of the Model, and discussed ways that we could work together to reduce violence in our communities.  Take a look at a video and some pictures from the event here, and if you are interested in future forums or other YVSP events email us at yvspforums@egc.org.  

 The next YVSP Steering Committee Meeting will be February 4th, 2011