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Challenge: Violence prevention professionals
frequently work in isolation from peers, have limited access
to updated information and resources, and have a limited
voice at the national level.
Strategy: HHD houses a number of
resource centers to address these challenges, including
the National Injury and Violence Prevention Resource Center,
the National Hate Crime Prevention Resource Center, and
the National Network of Violence Prevention Practitioners
(NNVPP). These groups provide the resources for professionals
- from practitioners to policy makers - to keep informed,
exchange information, and collaborate on issues such as
training, policy change, and program development.
For example, NNVPP offers monthly mailings, a Web site,
an active listserv and an annual summit, to bring community-based
practitioners together with researchers and policy
makers to make a difference at the local level.
Result: Today, the National
Network of Violence Prevention Practitioners (NNVPP)
is a membership organization of close to 500 agencies, including
community organizations, hospitals and emergency medical
services, police departments, state departments of education,
foundations, national organizations and universities. NNVPP
facilitates communications and sharing among practitioners
through a rich array of products and services, including:
- Summit ’98: Preventing Violence and Beyond: Facing
New Challenges in a Changing World, which involved more
than 200 practitioners in the fields of education, juvenile
justice, criminal justice, public health, social services,
health care, and youth development, was the culmination
of membership development activities that built commitment
and capacity.
- The NNVPP web site and members-only listserv. Through
a hypermail link, members are able to send messages to
each other, using both e-mail and the web. This system
allows for maximum usage by electronically connected members,
since e-mail is more widely accessible than the Web¾particularly
in resource poor communities.
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Promoting Violence
Prevention in Jamaica |
Violence, as measured by homicides and other violent crime,
has risen dramatically on the island of Jamaica in recent
years. Health and Human Development Programs - a division
of EDC - hosted a study tour in August 1999 on violence
prevention for a 20-member team of Jamaicans, including
high-ranking government officials and staff of the Inter-American
Development Bank. The goals of the tour, funded by the Inter-American
Development Bank, were to present tour participants with
practical strategies to better respond to lethal gang and
youth violence in Jamaica and to provide opportunities for
reciprocal learning between Jamaican and American policymakers
and practitioners.
The tour began with presentations on best practices in
violence prevention by HHD staff, including Joan Serra Hoffman,
Director of International Programs and Project Director
of the study tour; Dr. Ed Devos, Director of the Center
for Violence and Injury Prevention; Dr. Dieter Koch-Weser,
Renée Wilson-Brewer, Dr. Ron Slaby, and Joel Epstein; and
leading authorities in the field, including Professor Philip
Heymann of the Harvard Law School and Dr. Anthony Braga
of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. The presentations
included an overview of violence prevention strategies across
the lifecycle and which research evaluations have shown
to be effective in clinic, school, and community settings.
"Scientific evidence of effective violence prevention alone
can be dry," explained Cheryl Vince-Whitman, Director of
EDC's Health and Human Development Programs. "Proof of what
works must also have the emotional connection to the people
whose lives are affected." Thus, the team visited a range
of youth violence prevention programs in Boston, including
the Boston Police Department's Youth Violence Strike Force,
the 2006 Initiative, the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative,
and Youth Build, and met with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
They visited similar violence prevention programs in New
York City and role-played in a mock juvenile court process
there. Many of the organizations they visited are members
of HHD's National Network
of Violence Prevention Practitioners.
The tour was designed to aid the participants in incorporating
elements of violence prevention programming into the Jamaican
national security campaign. After they finished their study
tour, the Jamaicans renamed their campaign, "Taking It to
the Positive Side." Violence prevention, rather than just
punishment after the crime, will undoubtedly be a major
focus of that campaign.
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