Audioconference to Highlight Public Health Approaches to Youth Violence Prevention

Listeners will hear from municipal leaders, representing cities across the country, who are addressing youth violence through a public health lens that focuses on multi-faceted, long-term strategies targeting the root causes of the problem. Speakers will include:

• Rob Ingram, director, Office of Youth Violence Prevention, City of Portland, Ore., and
  
• Ken Shetter, executive director, Safe Cities Commission, Fort Worth, Texas.
  

A Public Health Approach
By adopting a public health framework, municipal leaders are not only taking steps to suppress the disturbing number of violent incidents involving youth, but are also focused on reducing risk factors such as family instability and substance abuse, as well as bolstering protective factors that reduce the likelihood that young people will turn to violence.

In Fort Worth, youth participants in the Safe Cities Commission’s Bright Futures program focus on academics, enrichment activities and life skills training as a positive alternative to violent or risky behavior. Led by Mayor Ken Shetter of the nearby suburb of Burleson, the Fort Worth Safe Cities Commission seeks to prevent crime throughout the Fort Worth area through planning and research, community collaboration and effective prevention programming.

In a number of cities, municipal leaders are seeking comprehensive, coordinated approaches to violence reduction that blend law enforcement with prevention and intervention programs.

In Minneapolis, under the leadership of Mayor R.T. Rybak, a committee of city, county and community experts has developed a Blueprint for Action to Prevent Youth Violence, which contains four key goals: connecting youth to trusted adults; intervening at the first sign that youth are at risk for violence; restoring youth who have gone down the wrong path; and launching a public education campaign to reverse the culture of violence.

Municipal officials in Portland are also working to engage the community in efforts to reduce youth violence. To improve coordination and bolster public support for prevention initiatives, the city hired a public safety coordinator to serve in a new Office of Youth Violence Prevention. The coordinator initiates public engagement efforts, conducts community outreach and interventions, provides referrals to residents, plans public education campaigns, and seeks to develop partnerships with local community groups.

The audioconference will feature speakers from cities that are confronting the epidemic of youth violence through a public health approach. Listeners will hear about the challenges and benefits of these approaches, and will gain new ideas that are relevant to their own communities.

How to Register
While the call is free, it is available only to a limited number of participants. Advance registration is required by close of business on Tuesday, October 21. A separate registration is needed for each phone line that will be used to listen to the call.

To register, visit www.nlc.org/iyef. No phone registrations can be accepted. One day prior to the event, each registrant will receive an e-mail or fax message providing a toll-free, dial-in number to use in joining the audioconference.

Details: To ask questions about the audioconference, leave a detailed message on the YEF Institute information line at (202) 626-3014. To learn more about city strategies for reducing youth violence, contact Leon Andrews at (202) 626-3039 or andrews@nlc.org.