March 1, 2006

unified response to youth violence in Boston

With the recent surge in teen violence, many Bostonians are wondering what can be done to prevent crime, drug-abuse, gangs, truancy, and teen pregnancy. Today, the Boston High-Risk Youth Network is announcing that more than 50 community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and public agencies have pledged their support to a specific series of recommendations that are designed to better meet the needs of high-risk youth ages 12-21 in Boston. Larry Mayes, Chief of Human Services for the City of Boston,joined local officials, religious leaders and concerned citizens at this morning’s announcement at the New Boston Pilot Middle School in Dorchester.

“The faith-based organizations and community-based organizations are essential partners in this fight for the minds, spirits, and lives of our youth,” said BostonMayor Thomas M. Menino. “As Mayor of Boston, I applaud this collaborative effort.”

“We are anxious to see a new Boston in which every child flourishes,” said Milton J. Little, Jr., president and chief executive officer at United Way of Massachusetts Bay. “We ought to be building a community that surrounds young people with all the ingredients for healthy development – including employed parents and safe homes. We must build up the social threads that hold our neighborhoods together. And we must ensure that children grow up surrounded by the kind of supportive adults that are going to make a big difference in their lives.”

The diverse group, representing both private and public agencies, service providers, funders and policy-makers, faith-based and secular programs and grass-roots and business groups have been meeting for over a year to create a formal blueprint aimed at closing critical gaps in services to youth in Boston.

The result of the planning process is the Needs Assessment of High-Risk Youth in Boston, which scans the status of youth at high-risk in Boston and the unique challenges they face. For example, 23 percent of all children in Boston, almost 25,000, live in intense poverty. Only 30 percent of Boston’s dropouts in the 16-19 age group were employed in 2000, ranking Boston 44th among the nation’s 50 largest cities. And 7.5 percent of Boston’s total 16-25 year-old population (over 7,800 youth) were neither in school or work in 2000.

With the information provided in the Assessment, the service agencies involved in the High-Risk Youth Network aim to provide resources and strategies that develop the social, emotional and spiritual needs of young people.The Network today is releasing a “map” of organizations that are committed to making an impact in seven areas of recommendations for improvement in youth services that are identified in the Needs Assessment of High-Risk Youth in Boston. These include: Prevention/Social-Emotional Resources, Material Needs including food and housing, Employment and Training, Parent Involvement and Advocacy, Safety, School-Related Services, and Infrastructure. The recommendations are detailed in the full text of the Needs Assessment at www.bostonyouthnet.org.

The Needs Assessment also indicates that many of the neediest youth in Boston are not connected to the services that will help them to be successful. Harold Sparrow, executive director of the Black Ministerial Alliance, said of this Needs Assessment Report, “We now have scientific, evidence-based data of the realities of life for young people in Boston. From here, the real work of improving their futures, and the future of this city, can begin.”

“We recognize the critical role of applied research in understanding community dynamics and in making strategic decisions about where and how to apply limited resources,” said Jeff Bass, executive director of the Emmanuel Gospel Center. “This needs assessment report is both important and timely, and will help congregations and community agencies work together more effectively to address the needs of high-risk youth.”

With the findings of the Needs Assessment, youth service providers have a new understanding of how to close the gaps in existing services and help youth reach positive goals. Key findings of the report highlight assets found in the existing system of youth services. Practices that have proven successful include: consistency, court diversion programs, inter-agency communication, building relationships with youth and family, decent compensation for service providers, and parenting skills training.

“This report highlights the strength of community leaders from grass-roots organizations, who are committed to interdependence and leveraging resources,” said Chris Sumner, executive director of The Boston TenPointCoalition.

For a partial list of agencies finding success in addressing the needs of youth at high-risk, refer to the Boston Youth Survival Guide - available at www.bostonyouthnet.org.

About the High-Risk Youth Network

The Network was established in 2004 as a collaboration between scores of community partners, and is supported by a partnership between The Black Ministerial Alliance, United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Emmanuel Gospel Center, the Boston TenPoint Coalition.

The Network convenes representatives of public agencies, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations and others who work with youth at high risk in Boston to address three priorities:

1) Identify gaps in youth services (as seen in the Needs Assessment Report) and develop advocacy plans to address these gaps;
2) Set common city-wide and measurable goals for youth development services; and
3) Strengthen the system and process for employment for youth and help more youth advance in successful career ladders.

For more details, go to bostonyouthnet.org and bmaboston.org; please join us for our next High-Risk Youth Network Meeting on March 10, 2006.