UNITY and the local team leaders will discuss opportunities for preventing violence within the NOLA for Life initiative. UNITY staff will share advice for New Orleans based on the success of other UNITY cities, and will also facilitate a meeting in Central City to launch the community engagement process. Special thanks to CeaseFire New Orleans for hosting the community meeting.

UNITY will present at this meeting of the San Diego City Heights Anti-Violence Task Force, a diverse group that includes representatives from schools, social services, law enforcement and other sectors. Annie Lyles will introduce a process for developing strategy priorities for 2013 and share how coalitions in other cities have successfully prevented violence.

UNITY facilitated a dialogue among four local health departments working to prevent violence, as part of a two-day meeting in Atlanta hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among other topics, UNITY and the STRYVE grantees discussed strategies to secure additional funding for local efforts, and how best to leverage existing resources. Striving To Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE) is a CDC initiative that promotes a public health approach to prevent youth violence before it starts.

The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) invited UNITY to present at its Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. Congressperson Bobby Scott will join UNITY Project Director Rachel Davis on a panel about violence as a matter of public health. Rachel will share recommendations for how state decision-makers can coordinate their efforts with federal agencies in support of communities. Visit the conference page for more details.