NEWS & VIEWS
Reports
Face-to-Face Bullying Proves More Harmful Than Cyberbullying
After interviewing 791 youths ages 10–20, University of New Hampshire researchers found 54 percent of harassment incidents occurred in person, 15 percent involved technology, and 31 percent involved both kinds of bullying. Youths said technology-based harassment was less distressing than in-person bullying by schoolmates and other peers.
How Homelessness Affects America's Children
Children who experience long-term homelessness are more likely to suffer from chronic disease down the line. Compounding Stress: The Timing and Duration Effects of Homelessness on Children's Health associates pre- and postnatal homelessness with health problems, developmental risks, and higher hospitalization rates. The data, taken from more than 20,000 caregivers of low-income kids with government or no health insurance, also showed long periods of homelessness can affect brain and body functions.
What Healthcare Providers Can Do for Violence Prevention
"Violence in the United States: Status, Challenges, and Opportunities" is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) take on how communities, organizations, and healthcare providers can address violence. Health practitioners are in a unique position to identify and help patients who have experienced violence and those at risk. The CDC says strategies that can reduce multiple forms of violence should be top priority, along with prevention programs.
Threat of Sanctions Does Little for Deterrence
Studying Deterrence Among High-Risk Adolescents, part of the Pathways to Desistance series, examines how the threat of sanctions is perceived by high-risk teens and whether such perceptions have an impact on crime deterrence. Severe punishments, including correctional placement, do not significantly reduce juvenile offending or youth arrests.
Closing Opportunity Gaps for Disadvantaged Youth
Two programs were highlighted in a report on opportunity gaps for disadvantaged youth. One Summer Jobs Plus offers students 8 weeks of mentoring and part-time summer employment. The Becoming a Man curriculum is an in-school, dropout- and violence-prevention program for at-risk male students. Both programs are being tested at the University of Chicago Crime Lab.
2015 KIDS COUNT Data Book
The KIDS COUNT Data Book assesses child well-being nationally and by state. States are ranked on 16 indicators within four domains: economic status, education, health, and family and community. Although child health has improved overall, more families are struggling financially, and the majority of school-aged kids still have trouble with math and reading.
News
Seattle Works on Police–Community Relations
Nineteen young people were hired by the Seattle Police Department (SPD) this summer through the Seattle Youth Employment Program, which gives low-income city residents a chance to fill temporary positions. In 2015, SPD doubled the jobs available, as part of Mayor Ed Murray's Summer Youth at Work initiative. The newest additions are from minority backgrounds, and they have been tasked with improving police–youth interaction.
Youth Advise City Leaders on Crime Reduction
In response to a spike in homicides and shootings, 31 young ambassadors will work with Louisville (Ky.) Mayor Greg Fischer's office to reduce violent crime among youth. Each will serve a 1-year term with the city's Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods department and meet monthly with metro, state, and federal officials to discuss their ideas. Team members will also collaborate with and make recommendations to the city's "One Love Louisville" campaign and help write an action plan as part of the National Forum.
Boston Police Continue Efforts to Prevent Shootings
Police in Boston, Mass., say they are doing everything possible to turn the tide of violence—even looking to the community for help. Nine people were recently shot in the city, three fatally, and city leaders won't stand for it anymore. "We're working our hardest," said Police Commissioner William Evans. "I got all kinds of resources out there in those areas where we continuously see the violence."
At-Risk Philly Kids Get Chance to Win Big
Two Temple University graduates have launched an Indiegogo project that hopes to raise $10,000 for the Urban Youth BMX BikeLife Program. The program will be a summer camp of sorts to engage at-risk youth, and participation is free. Good grades and performance will earn kids prizes like T–shirts, DVDs, and potentially a BMX bike.
Long Beach MBK Task Force Holds First Meeting
The My Brother's Keeper (MBK) Task Force in Long Beach, Calif., is up and running, and its goal is to achieve positive outcomes for youth. In January, Long Beach adopted a resolution to support President Obama's MBK Community Challenge, which asks city leaders to collaborate in closing opportunity gaps and ensuring young people get the resources they need.
Veterans and Traumatized Teens Team Up in Chicago
YMCA of Metro Chicago's (Ill.) Urban Warriors is a 16-week peer support program that pairs youth who have experienced extreme trauma—primarily shootings and deaths—with vets. Veterans offer positive coping strategies and work to reduce cyclical violence. Ten vets were matched with 29 boys (ages 12 to 18) in Chicago's Little Village and Humboldt Park.
In Minneapolis, Food Heals
Princess Titus is a longtime Minneapolis resident who has witnessed firsthand the staggering effects of gang violence. Her two sons were gang members, and one was shot and killed at age 16. To cope with the grief her community has endured as violence continues to take its toll, Titus invited her neighbors to cook and eat together. She teamed up with lawyer-turned-chef and north sider Latasha Powell to start Appetite For Change (AFC), a nonprofit that trains north Minneapolis kids in the food industry and provides jobs in farming, facilities, and service. AFC is already a big success. Last year, it fed 500 residents healthy meals, and in spring the organization opened a restaurant, harvesting more than 5,000 pounds of fresh food from 18 urban farms.
Opportunities Initiative Carves Out Jobs for Youth
The 100,000 Opportunities Initiative aims to find jobs for 100,000 kids by 2018. Ariel Investments President Mellody Hobson is a financial literacy expert who has long invested in education. A member of the Starbucks Corp. board, Hobson has helped fund one of the largest youth job initiatives driven by an alliance of national companies. For the program's rollout, about 30 major corporations committed to meet and interview the some 4,000 young Chicagoans looking for work. The youths have already received skills training, assistance with résumés, and mentoring.
Other Resources
Chicago Baller Wants City to Wear Its 'Drop'
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah, creator of the Noah's Arc Foundation, is the star of a new antiviolence PSA. The message is that violence is a global problem—not just a city issue—and everyone should claim responsibility for turning crime around. Noah is asking the city to "Rock Your Drop"—a teardrop necklace with a scored surface representing the pain of lives lost to violence. The metal "drop" symbolizes strength and commitment to positive change.
Building Data on the Hispanic Experience
A workgroup formed by the Administration for Children and Families recommended 10 critical data elements for surveying the Hispanic population ancestry/heritage subgroup. Hispanics make up the largest ethnic minority group in the country, but information about this diverse population trails behind.
Improving Services for Trafficking Victims
A Federal Action Plan for victims of human trafficking outlines eight objectives, including integrating survivor experiences and conducting rigorous research and reporting. More than 250 action items delineate victim service improvements.
Chicago Students 'Interrupt the Violence'
A mural painted by a group of students expressed the frustration and grief kids felt after 10 people were killed in Chicago—including a 7-year-old girl—over Fourth of July weekend. The young artists' work, "Interrupt the Violence, Not Our Future," is a 15-by-18-foot reminder that violent crime will not be tolerated in the city.
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