How do you stop the murders that are decimating cities? When the murders are gang related, the city of Boston has a novel approach. Instead of focusing on violence reduction by primarily working with at risk youth , the city’s StreetSafe program goes directly to the source, gang leaders and members. The program was created by the Boston Foundation, which also funds it.
StreetSafe out reach workers devote their lives, and often risk them, by going into the most violence prone areas of Boston and developing a presence. The workers are armed---with resources. Approaching a gang member, the StreetSafe worker attempts to strike up a casual conversation, at first maybe just saying hello. The StreetSafe workers have to be trusted by their targeted clients. Many StreetSafe workers are convicted felons that have been carefully screened by the Boston police department and the Boston Foundation. Offering formerly incarcerated persons a job is another plus the Boston Foundation provides.
Being street-smart and perceptive, StreetSafe workers know the part of town they are working in, and the problems those who live there encounter. The workers engage the gang members in conversation that will not be perceived as threatening, and have a sixth sense that tells them when a client needs help.
A worker might offer a gang member information on obtaining a GED, where to get a legitimate job, or where stable and affordable housing can be found. What the StreetSafe workers are doing, in essence, is letting the gang member know that he still has potential, and that others care about him, and will help him. Making a gang member feel that he is so much more than just a gang member can open that young man’s mind to conceive of a less bleak future.
The StreetSafe workers endure long, hard hours on the street, often working when most of the city is fast asleep. The workers also do much more than pass on resources. When a gang member is shot they arrive at the hospital quickly and try to keep the violence from escalating via retaliation. They will sit with a client when the client goes to court, and sometimes as happens, when a client is murdered, they will attend the wake or funeral. Being able to defuse a potentially violent situation is probably a StreetSafe worker’s most important job skill.
Not all StreetSafe workers keep their jobs. There is a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior that can be construed as inappropriate or criminal. Workers were fired for hanging around so-called drug blocks, as well as for breaking the law. The StreetSafe workers have to be trusted and respected if they are to be effective.
And how successful is the StreetSafe program? According to members of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government who track the program, from 2009 through 2010 the neighborhoods where the StreetWorkers were deployed saw an decrease in violence while other parts of the city saw an increase.
The workers made a connection with 250 hard core gang members. Out of that number 70 young men were hooked up to jobs, educational programs, mental health treatment and housing. Without the StreetSafe program, these young men would have most likely never been reached. StreetSafe accomplished something that conventional programs could not.
Source: Boston Globe
|
|
|
|
