Project Staff What's New Spotlight: Cleveland, OH Coming Soon: Partnerships for Preventing Violence satellite training series Partners National Consortium Members Past Convening Materials Steering Committee Members Past Committee Notes The 45 Large U.S. Cities Approach Frequently Asked Questions Resources for Preventing Violence

Urban Networks to Increase Thriving Youth through Violence Prevention

“Violence is not the problem of one neighborhood or group,

and the response and solutions are not the responsibility of

one sector of the community or of one agency, professional group,

or business.  Coming together and owning this problem

and the solutions are central.” 

-Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Harvard School of Public Health

UNITY is designed to strengthen and support cities in  preventing violence before it occurs and to help sustain these efforts. Young people are severely impacted by violence and those who live in urban areas are disproportionately affected. It is time to consider a new approach. To maximize existing resources and promote sustainability, we are proposing a paradigm shift – from programs to strategy.

Many cities do not have a collaborative plan or a clear strategy for preventing violence before it occurs. They need help to more effectively prevent violence and improve the lives of young people in our cities. Others are well underway and can share their successes and further strengthen their efforts. All of them need effective policies and resources at the federal level to reinforce and sustain their priorities. UNITY has been envisioned to help.

UNITY Introduction and Brief Overview | Also in b&w

UNITY Activities

• Foster effective communication: People need to be able to communicate about violence prevention to establish effective policies and sustainable solutions. UNITY is developing materials and resources to help frame the violence that affects young people as a preventable condition and not only a matter for the criminal justice system to pick up the pieces after the fact.

Contact Rachel Davis, Annie Lyles, or Sonia Lee for more information about UNITY or SIGN-UP to receive information and updates on UNITY by email.

UNITY Project Staff

Larry Cohen, MSW, Executive Director, Prevention Institute

Rachel Davis, MSW, Prevention Institute

Annie Lyles, MSW, Prevention Institute

Sonia Lee, MPH, Prevention Institute

Billie Weiss, MPH, Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center at UCLA

Anne Duncan, MPH, Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center at UCLA

Deborah Prothrow-Stith, MD, Harvard School of Public Health

What's New

If we treated violence as a disease, would that help us find a cure?  Published April 28, 2008 in The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), this article features UNITY co-chair Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith of the Harvard School of Public Health and Natoya Walker, UNITY Steering Committee Member and Special Assistant to Cleveland's Mayor.

"When we say violence is a public health problem, what we're really saying is that it's a preventable problem...I think the pump in Cleveland is primed.  The biggest thing is that they appreciate that they are dealing with a problem that they don't have to have."

Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith

"[The] criminal justice approach locks kids up.  The public health approach redirects their energy." 

Natoya Walker (of Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson)

To read the full article highlighting Cleveland's efforts to prevent violence, click here.

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The March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM) features an article on Partnerships for Preventing Violence (PPV) – a joint partnership between Prevention Institute, the Harvard School of Public Health and the Education Development Center (read the abstract).  The article, co-authored by Prevention Institute, highlights a training model incorporating in-person leadership development and national skill building in violence prevention.  Training materials from the PPV initiative will soon be available on the UNITY website.  To learn more about the innovative model or the training series, click here.

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The last UNITY National Consortium Convening took place Tuesday, December 11th.  In response to National Consortium requests for more information on what’s happening in cities, the meeting highlighted Nashville, TN.  Specifically, Paul Juarez shared the outcomes from Nashville’s recent strategic planning process.  In addition, we discussed Setting National Priorities to Prevent Violence Before it Occurs – building on outcomes from a recent UNITY meeting of youth and city representatives from around the country, including:

• Prioritizing strategies for preventing violence upfront, in the thick, and in the aftermath;
• Working with key organizations identified to move the prioritized strategies and the UNITY RoadMap forward; and
• Recognizing cities for their efforts to prevent violence.

View and download convening materials

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UNITY Meeting for City Representatives

On August 16, 2007 in Oakland, California, UNITY convened a group of young people and representatives from 13 cities across the country to craft a national platform to prevent violence before it occurs.  The idea for the meeting emerged from the March 2007 UNITY National Consortium Convening during a discussion of what it takes to create sustainable violence prevention efforts in cities.  Consortium members stressed the need for the national prioritization of youth violence prevention resources and policies and further strategized that mayors and other city leaders would have the greatest influence on priorities at the national level.  The UNITY Meeting for City Representatives explored – from a city perspective – the what, how, and who is needed to effectively and sustainably prevent violence.  It was an opportunity to a) identify national priorities that would support violence prevention in cities, b) identify actions needed to build national support and momentum to prevent violence before it occurs, and c) obtain city input on UNITY products and services.  To download a document summarizing the key themes and outcomes from that gathering, click here.

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‘Most Dangerous US Cities’ 2007

On November 18, 2007, CQ Press released their listing of the “safest” and “most dangerous” US cities of 2007.  Groups such as the American Society of Criminology, the US Conference of Mayors, and the FBI criticized the rankings stating that the crime data of cities has been misused.  For example:

• crimes, including homicide and car theft, are equally weighted;
• geographic boundaries are different between older and new cities, such that surrounding middle-class, low-crime areas are less likely to be included within the limits of older cities; and
• numerous variables contribute to crime in a particular city, and simple rankings cannot take these into account.

For more information, read the recent press release on the city crime rankings from the US Conference of Mayors or listen to Criminal Intent, an NPR commentary by criminologist Dr. Richard Rosenfeld, on why media should use caution when reporting crime information.

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Youth Violence An Issue of Public Health?

Tell Me More, National Public Radio (NPR) - June 4, 2007

Violent crimes are on the rise across America for the second year in a row, according to a new FBI report. It marks the first sustained increase since the early 1990s. The U.S. Dept. of Justice is strategizing on how to tighten law enforcement, but some argue that youth violence, specifically, is an issue of public health. LISTEN to advocates discuss applying their unique public health approach to the streets of Chicago.

• Deborah Prothrow-Smith, Harvard School of Public Health; UNITY co-chair
• Gary Slutkin, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health; director, CeaseFire campaign; UNITY Steering Committee member
• Juan Johnson, CeaseFire program participant

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Dueling and Youth Violence

The Boston Globe - April 30, 2007

"In Boston today, some neighborhoods are being terrorized by men

who work out their grudges with guns and without regard to the law.

But this is by no means the first outbreak of such violence..."

Reflecting on the striking parallels between dueling and today's urban violence, Deborah Prothrow-Stith of the Harvard School of Public Health and UNITY co-chair, concludes that violence is not the fate of poor urban youths, any more than it was the fate of rich white gentlemen.  READ the complete op-ed.  

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Do 'Fight Clubs' Reflect America's Violent Culture?

News & Notes with Ed Gordon, National Public Radio (NPR) - August 17, 2006

Deborah Prothrow-Stith, of the Harvard School of Public Health and UNITY co-chair, talks with NPR's Ed Gordon on how best to address the problem of teen "fight clubs".  LISTEN to the program.

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