Good News That You Can Use! ISSUE #2-November 19, 2020 STOP the Violence News & Updates Our purpose is to change the community narrative about violence and stop the spread of the disease of violence in the City of Pittsburgh. While we are concerned as well with the surrounding areas and will share solutions and events in those areas, we only have jurisdiction over the City. Solutions: Youth Diversion Avoiding A Criminal Record The Foundation of HOPE’s Youth Diversion program is designed to give young people who commit a non-violent, low-to-medium offense the opportunity to remain in the community while addressing their needs rather than being prosecuted, convicted, or incarcerated. Since 2017, 87 youth have successfully completed the youth diversion program. It works like this: a youth is identified by a referring partner and evaluated; an individualized goal plan is created which will focus on counseling, treatment, and behavior modification rather than punitive measures; with the assistance of diversion staff, the youth implements the plan; if the youth completes the plan, all charges in the case are dismissed. Jeffrey Williams, Youth Diversion Coordinator Diversion’s many partners include the City of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Police, Allegheny County District Attorney and many others. Youth Diversion began on the Northside of the City and is expanding the the Hill District and other areas. For further information, contact Jeffrey Williams, Youth Diversion Program Director at: Jwilliams@foundationofhope.org or call 412-321-3343. You can access the 2019 Foundation of HOPE Diversion Annual Report HERE. Solutions: Outreach Pittsburgh’s Group Violence Intervention (GVI) violence prevention strategy was featured in the October STOP the Violence Newsletter which can be accessed HERE. For additional information on GVI, including its history and rationale, see this hour-long webinar from Mayors Against Illegal Guns entitled Re-imagining Public Safety: Group Violence Intervention and Intimate Partner Intervention: Webinar. The password is: MA1Guniversity! The first half of the webinar is on GVI, the second half on Intimate Partner Intervention. The overall objective of GVI is to change community norms about violence and redirect high risk individuals who might be prone to violence. Much of the one-on-one work with the target population is done by GVI’s diverse street outreach team. The team is comprised of trained individuals who, due to family history, life experience or training, are familiar with and/or known by members of that high risk group of individuals that is most likely to be the perpetrator or victim of a homicide. Rev. Cornell Jones is coordinator of all outreach teams. Trained, culturally-appropriate outreach workers work with the highest-risk youth (shooters) to make them less likely to commit violence by meeting them where they are, (streets/gang house, etc.) talking to them about the consequences of violence (jail/death), and helping them to obtain the social services they need such as job training and drug treatment. A primary duty of street outreach workers is to act as violence interrupters, addressing homicide incidents and providing immediate assistance to reduce the potential for retaliatory or secondary violence. They are also involved with programs that have allowed high-risk individuals to benefit educationally, vocationally, or with family, addictions or other immediate needs. These can include accessing food, jobs, mentoring, training, material goods (computers, personal protective equipment) and others. Workers also engage community leaders, residents, business owners, faith leaders, service providers and high-risk individuals conveying the message that violence should not be viewed as normal but as a behavior that can be changed. The involvement of the entire community from police to youth, business owners to residents and faith based organizations all working together are the keys to the success of this program. By providing a strong safety net, resources and different modes of accountability, we are able to make a positive impact on families. The following three groups provide essential outreach workers for GVI. Reach Outreach Coordinators: Antoine Bailey & Vaughn Rivers Reach: Operating through the Hill District’s Center that Cares, Reach includes 13 members coordinated by Managing Director Rev. Glenn Grayson, Project Coordinator Antoine Bailey, and Violence Prevention Specialists Vaughn Rivers and Mike Logan. Reach concentrates its activities in the Hill District, Northside, Hazelwood, Soth Hills, West End and East End of the City. "We try to assist people around the city, community by community by addressing "at risk" situations and participating "with" the community to reduce violence and find options and opportunities to support the neighborhoods and it's residents" said Dr. Art Woods, Workforce Development Specialist with the Reach team. If you know of an individual that is at risk or would like a Reach representative to speak to a community group, please contact the Reach team: Antoine Bailey at 412-670-7457 or Vaughn Rivers at vaughnrivers3@gmail.com South Pittsburgh Peacemakers Outreach Team Leader: Richard Carrington South Pittsburgh Peacemakers (SPP): A project of the South Pittsburgh Coalition For Peace (Rev. Eileen Smith, Director), SPP includes 4 members and is coordinated by Team Leader Richard Carrington. SPP works in Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhoods. The South Pittsburgh Peacemakers consists of South Pittsburgh intervention specialists and a chaplain, who are trained peace makers, violence interrupters and outreach workers designed to prevent shootings by identifying and mediating potentially lethal conflicts in our communities and follows up to ensure that conflicts do not reignite. SPP targets active gang members, shooters and violent offenders. To contact the South Pittsburgh Peacemakers, please contact Rev. Eileen Smith at revesmith@spcoalitionforpeace.org or Richard Carrington at mrbgzus2006@yahoo.com. Pittsburgh Outrech Coordinator: Rev. Cornell Jones Pittsburgh Outreach: Currently funded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, the Pittsburgh Outreach Team has 13 members and operates citywide. The team has special expertise in school based outreach, remediating trauma among mothers, and community program connections. It is coordinated directly by GVI Coordinator Rev. Cornell Jones who can be contacted at cornell.jones@pittsburghpa.gov. Facts & Stats Below are selected crime statistics from the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. These statistics are from the period January 1 to October 31, 2020. These only cover the City, not the areas of Allegheny County which are outside of the City. A few statistics of note: homicides are up by over 40% from 2019; non-fatal shootings are about the same as 2019; Zone 5 leads in homicides and is tied with Zone 1 in non-fatal shootings. These statistics are very alarming. They result from a unique combination of factors including behavior changes and loss of social supports caused by the pandemic, availability of funds due to government relief efforts, and the inability of police to be as engaged and proactive in the community. If you are interested in working to change these negative statistics, please contact the STOP the Violence Office. Every life is important! City of Pittsburgh Police Zones Coming Events If you are aware of an anti-violence event that is open to the public, please send us a notice or announcement. Thank you. To register for this December 1 event, please go here. Thank you! Tip for You: Know Who You’re Riding With In at least two situations in October, individuals have been killed because they were in a car in the company of the wrong people. PLEASE, don’t accept rides from people with questionable histories or who associate with violent people. When in doubt, don't take the ride! Previous Newsletter: To access the October 2020 STOP the Violence newsletter, please click here: OCTOBER 2020. QUICK POLL: What portion of this issue of the Newsletter is most valuable to you? Solutions Select Facts & Stats Select Coming Events Select Tips for You Select The Stop the Violence Newsletter is produced monthly by the STOP the Violence Office of the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Safety. Please send any Ideas or suggestions to Jay Gilmer. 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