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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Melissa Pearrow, PhD, Brian Irwin, and Sheila Desai. Graduate College of Education, Center for Social Development and Education, University of Massachusetts, Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Wheatley 2-169, Boston, MA 02125, 617-287-7624, melissa.pearrow@umb.edu

Community Partnerships in Addressing Youth Violence

In 2005, Boston's homicide rate surged to a 10-year high, with 40% of the victims being under the age of 21. The upsurge in youth violence has resulted in efforts from multiple government and community agencies to address the causes and reduce the violence. This presentation will address the challenges and benefits in coordinating multiple community agencies form partnerships to address youth violence. The participants include Boston Centers for Youth and Family, which provides programs and after school activities to community members of all ages; the Center for Teen Empowerment, a program that organizes inner-city youth as agents of positive social change; and, Youth Empowerment Services, which promotes a peaceable culture in youth programs, schools, and neighborhoods. Each of the partnering organizations is embedded in the larger urban community, and the partnership provides opportunities for the involvement of many stakeholders, including youth, family, and community leaders, in the dynamic effort to address youth violence. Participants will learn to identify community organizations that can benefit from collaborative partnerships as they utilize the best practices from each organization. Issues unique to researchers as they evaluate interventions within community settings will be addressed, specifically as they relate to effectiveness and efficacy studies. Policy implications will also be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn to identify community organizations that can benefit from collaborative partnerships as they utilize the best practices from each organization. Issues unique to researchers as they evaluate interventions within community settings will be addressed, specifically as they relate to effectiveness and efficacy studies. Policy implications will also be discussed.

Keywords: Youth Violence, Community-Based Partnership

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered