Wake County Gets $505,103 Grant to Fund Gang Prevention Program

12/2/2007

Wake County Board of Commissioners today accepted a $505,103 John Rex Endowment Grant to fund the County’s "Youth Leaders in Action Academy." The purpose of the Academy is to prevent gang involvement among the County’s youth by offering alternative activities that build personal development and marketable skills. The grant, which will be administered by Wake County Human Services, also assists those youth, their families and other community leaders adopt pro-social values, become engaged in positive youth development programming, and produce valuable service in their communities.

This Academy -- which will provide a variety of education, training, entrepreneurship and leadership development opportunities for adolescents living in targeted neighborhoods where gang activity has been documented -- is one of the key strategies identified by the Wake County Gang Prevention Partnership. In addition, the grant will allow the County to create a full-time public health educator position dedicated solely to gang prevention.

"We commend the Rex Endowment for this commitment to the County’s ongoing gang prevention efforts," said Board Chair Tony Gurley. "It is critically important that we support programs such as Youth Leaders in Action Academy. We have a responsibility as a community to provide positive role models and safe learning environments to help our youth avoid the dangerous consequences of gang involvement."

The Gang Prevention Partnership, established in 2003, has grown from 17 to more than 60 partners, representing government, law enforcement, and nonprofit organizations. In February 2006, the Partnership launched its Plan to Reduce Gang Activity and Violence in Wake County. The plan was based on the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Comprehensive Gang Model: "A Guide to Assessing Your Community’s Youth Gang Problem."

Wake County’s Gang Prevention Partnership has been extremely effective, having accomplished the following:

· Provided extensive training for youth service providers, increasing from 49 percent to 94 percent those who can now informally assess a youth’s level of gang involvement.

· Established "Prevention Service Provider" and "Treatment Service Provider" peer-support and supervision groups, which meet monthly.

· Organized a nationally known Gang Outreach Intervention Training for service providers, youth ministers, school personnel and law enforcement professionals.

· Conducted more than 100 gang awareness and prevention presentations to community-based and grassroots organizations, schools and citizens groups.

· Developed collaborative relationships with JobLink and Youth Employment Systems, and developed new intervention programs used by the Wake County Public School System, El Pueblo and Haven House.

· Partnered with the Raleigh Police Department and the community to pilot The CHOICE Project, which seeks to provide non-violent drug dealers with opportunities to turn around their lives.

· Established the Law Enforcement Gang Intelligence-Sharing Network in Wake County.

The Youth Leaders in Action Academy is a four-track program that consists of:

· Network of Youth Advisory Council (YAC) in concert with the City of Raleigh Community Advisory Leadership System. YAC participants will increase communication and leadership skills, and strengthen their sense of personal accomplishments.

· Community-based Mapping Assets Project (CMAP) aligned with Urban Outreach Initiative through North Carolina State University. By engaging youth in mapping assets of their community with adult volunteers, CMAP will develop marketable skills and useful maps of community resources.

· Summer Teen Health Outreach Project delivered in partnership with the HIV/STD Education Unit. Eighteen summer teen health outreach participants will develop a sense of personal power and increase their self esteem, become valuable information resources in their communities, and exercise positive decision-making regarding their sexual health.

· (PODER) - (Spanish verb meaning, "to be able") entrepreneurial education initiative targeting Latino males 13-17 years old. Youth in the PODER (Positive Outcomes Delivered through Entrepreneurial Resiliency) track will develop an alternative to gang involvement.

The John Rex Endowment supports projects that promote health, improve access to health care and increase the quality of care available to children and youth in Wake County.

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