Latest news with #GroupViolenceIntervention
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
‘We can turn it around,' Pine Bluff officials say that juvenile violence on the decline
PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Juvenile violence is on the decline in Pine Bluff. The Pine Bluff School District (PBSD) shared on Friday that office discipline referrals have nearly halved over the past two school years. Pine Bluff puts park curfews into effect, enforcing zero-tolerance policy Officials said that if one thing could be pointed to as a cause, it would be the Group Violence Intervention (GVI) movement. Jennifer Barbaree became PBSD superintendent shortly before the implementation of GVI in area schools. 'When GVI first started, we had lost nine students to murder in that school year,' Barbaree said. In July, it will be a year and a half since a juvenile homicide in Pine Bluff. PBSD office discipline referrals decreased by 30% this past school year. In elementary schools, discipline referrals have dropped by an average of 50%, with 34th Elementary seeing the most significant decline at 75%. Arkansas Stop the Violence speaks on recent string of homicides in Little Rock On Friday, during the last day of school, GVI hosted a community celebration in the Pine Bluff Convention Center. PBSD Assistant Superintendant Anthony Carlock said students were able to get excused absences for attending. 'This is a celebration, so when we think about, we are not counting youth homicides; we're celebrating how much life we still have in Pine Bluff, and how much life we can impact for our future,' Carlock said. Carlock said GVI helps students through mentoring, outreach, connecting people with resources, and rewarding those who invest in safety throughout the year. Director Kevin Crumpton explained that it also trains police and juvenile justice officers for their role. 'You got to be able to work together to make change in your particular city,' Crumpton said. Jasmine Jones has two children in the district. She just learned of GVI Friday, but she's noticed the effect it's had much sooner. 'It makes me feel better about my kids growing up in this community like we can turn it around,' Jones said. Jefferson County budget vetoed by judge, county remains without 2025 budget A state grant helped fund the formation of GVI. PBSD officials stated a program like this has the potential to improve communities across the state. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Yahoo
‘Change that mindset': Harrisburg police work to ‘recruit' children as young as third grade before gangs do
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — This is not just about preparing children for what might happen if they see a gun at some moment in the distant future. Violent groups of people, including gangs, purposely recruit children into their fold — initially to do things like transport a gun from one place to another in exchange for money, said Angelo Craig, Harrisburg's Group Violence Intervention (GVI) project manager, speaking Tuesday morning to third, fourth and fifth grade students at Steele Elementary School in uptown Harrisburg. 'They're using younger kids because they're less identifiable, in their belief, by the police officers,' Craig said. So the GVI team, including a group of community service aides, is visiting Harrisburg elementary schools to do some recruiting of their own. The message, to kids so familiar with the unhelpful saying 'snitches get stitches' that they could complete the phrase on their own in unison when prompted? 'Just trying to slowly erase that and talk about, you know, when you tell things [to adults], you're not 'snitching,'' Craig said. 'You're saving a life, and that life may be your own.' The GVI team 'aligned with what we try to do here – with our school pledge – and just empowering our students to 'stand up and speak up.' So that alignment was uncanny, because I did not see the PowerPoint' presented to the students before the students saw it, said Dr. Frances Echevarría, Steele's principal. 'So I was like, 'Yes, okay. Our students are getting what they need.'' 'They were also speaking to them in a way that is kid-friendly, and [the children] understood,' Echevarría said. The children confirmed that. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'Always tell an adult when you're in trouble, and never hold back,' said a fifth-grade student, Lee'ohnny, when asked what she had learned. Fifth-grade teacher Ahmya Woodyard — once a student in Harrisburg city schools, now a second-year teacher working on her master's degree — said the assembly also complemented the lessons she teaches, which aren't only about subjects like social studies and science. 'Since I'm not too old of age, I can relate a lot to the students,' Woodyard said. 'So I hear the stories more often than [older adults], but also I can talk to a kid in a language that they understand.' 'I try to figure out how to communicate and get the real, 'What's really going on? Why is this happening? Is there actually something behind this?'' Woodyard said. 'Come to find out it's something over social media or something like that, and it's not even something that needed to be taken that far. And then I realize, and I sit back and I think, like: 'How can we just make this change?'' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mpls City Council postpones vote on moving violence prevention funds to the county indefinitely
The Brief The Minneapolis City Council discussed moving more than $1 million of the city's violence prevention budget to the county before postponing the motion indefinitely. A committee meeting on the matter was disrupted earlier this week by a pastor who accused the council of ignoring him. One member accused that pastor of making violent threats. The city has been accused of awarding violence prevention contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars without verifying how the funding was actually used. MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minneapolis City Council voted to postpone the motion on moving Group Violence Intervention (GVI) funds to Hennepin County indefinitely. Raw footage of the city council discussion can be viewed above. What they're saying Much of the discussion was focused on what transpired throughout the week, including the budget committee that passed the proposal to move more than $1 million in violence prevention programming to Hennepin County. The proposal came after accusations of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of violence prevention contracts being awarded without any verification of how the funds were used. READ MORE: Minneapolis to provide update on violence prevention programs under growing scrutiny Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw began by voicing her stance against the proposal, stating that the council was elected to do the work and that she is "confident" in their ability to carry it out. She also said there was no data to support moving the funding to the county. Council Member Aurin Chowdhurry said later in the discussion that she was "at a loss for words" and apologized to the public for the amount of misinformation surrounding the topic. Council Member Emily Koski added it's clear that the was a "fuindamental breakdown of communication" and that "This entire debate shows a lack of trust." Other council members then spent much of discussion expressing their dismay at the state of the discussion, adding that they felt threatened by the confrontation that took place during Monday's budget committee session. Council Member Wonsley then proposed to withdraw the motion to move GVI funding to the county indefinitely, which was unanimously approved. The other side Minneapolis City Council Member Aisha Chughtai questioned Minneapolis Safety Commissioner Barnette about statements made regarding violence prevention funds and their connection to certain city council members' interests. When Council Member Chughtai asked Barnette about which council members he was referring to, Commissioner Barnette started recapping his work in the debate before he was cut off for going over time. "As we moved along, we improved the invoicing process --" Barnette said before he was interrupted. "Which council members were you referring to?" Chughtai repeated. "I am trying to lay out the facts of where we are," Barnette said. After a long pause, Commissioner Barnette began again, speaking about the frustration felt by community organizations when they weren't getting paid and how he worked to address that. "But that wasn't the question I asked you, I asked you for specific council members, I understand that is not an answer that I'm going to receive here today or that this body will receive here today," Chughtai said. The questioning then ended when the allotted time was up. The backstory The council discussed the proposal to move more than $1 million in violence prevention programming after the move passed out of a budget committee with mixed support on Monday. READ MORE: Minneapolis City Council seeks to move $1.25M in violence prevention funding to county Hennepin County responded to the proposal to move violence prevention funding, saying, "Hennepin County is always open to collaboration and coordination with the City of Minneapolis. Hennepin County along with its valued community partners is committed to its work around gun violence prevention. It is one more tool we are using to attempt to interrupt and stop violence on our streets." The city has been accused of awarding violence prevention contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars without verifying how the funding was actually used. This came after a public confrontation at the committee meeting, where a pastor and longtime activist shouted at council members. READ MORE: Minneapolis council member accuses pastor of making threats after disruption The Source A live feed from the Minneapolis Council and past FOX 9 reporting.
