Gang and Violence Prevention Partnership

"Violence is a learned behavior. Like all learned

behaviors, it can be changed."

-- Mothers Against Teen Violence

The Gang and Violence Partnership Program was recently Highlighted on an international program called "A World of Possibilities" Click here to find out more.

Mission

Our mission is to actively promote the safety and well-being of our citizens by preventing youth violence and gang activities through awareness, education, collaboration and involvement.

Prevention is the Key

Youth violence is not a new problem in our society. While most think this is just a "big city" problem, it also has crept its way into the backyards of our hometown families.

The Gang and Violence Prevention Partnership (GVPP) realizes the urgency of this epidemic and we agree with the American Medical Association in that "More school suspensions and more prisons are not the answer. The answer, rooted in public health, is prevention."*

The GVPP helps our young people through:

Engaging our communities and building awareness of the issues young people could face on a daily basis. Education and awareness are two key partners in prevention.
Intercepting the problem before young people can act upon their negative ideas or intentions. We help schools and other organizations discern potential problems and offer assistance before the issue fully develops.
Showing young people that violence isn't the answer to their problems. By offering more positive solutions, we can help steer kids in the right direction before they make a decision that could negatively effect them for the rest of their lives.

Since the program was developed in 1998, we have committed ourselves to engaging our young people in ways that will curb violence and gang activity. We hold high standards for the quality of life we want for our young people and will work hard to ensure a promising future for today's developing leaders.

How Do We Work?

The GVPP of the Midland Area Community Foundation works to eliminate and prevent gang activity, bullying, and other youth violence in our communities. We interact with city officials, community leaders, youth service organizations, schools, parents and students to identify areas on which we need to focus to be most efficient. Through the various relationships we have formed, we have established and Nonviolence Week Event support a number of programs to help in the effort to keep youth violence to a minimum. These programs include, but are not limited to:

Week of Nonviolence
This event seeks to engage all school-age children in Midland County as participants in a week-long campaign that addresses the issue of youth violence in its many forms. The week is filled with activities such as student assemblies and special presentations. Each participating school chooses a team of students that decide what events take place and the means by which they are going build awareness among their peers.

School and Community Preparedness Exercises
The exercise is a school and law enforcement specific training that emphasizes the importance of community preparedness through cooperative training and collaboration in the event of a school site emergency. The sound effects, actors, and visual elements the exercise uses allows the students and officials to feel as if they were actually participants in a live emergency situation.

Youth Service Provider Training Seminars
These seminars offer a great deal of information to youth service providers in our community on such issues as gangs, threat assessment and bullying. This program was designed to build awareness among the community and its leaders. Participants get the opportunity to learn about various gangs, how to recognize potential problems, and what to do once a problem is spotted.

Parenting Workshops
The Partnership raises the level of awareness and education among parent groups through means such as Parenting Networks at local companies and Parent Education Networks through the Midland County Education Service Agency, which serves all of Midland County. Our goal is to help parents stay up to date on issues so that they can help their own child and other children under their influence. In turn, the parent will become an even greater asset to the community and a resource for other parents who may have questions.

How Can You Help?

The Gang and Violence Prevention Partnership asks you to consider joining our effort. We need the citizens of our area to recognize that youth violence and gang activity can threaten our citizens quickly and withour warning, and we must be vigilant to keep this from happening.

You can have your name added to the GVPP mailing list to receive notices of meetings, upcoming events, etc. You can ask that someone contact you to provide more information about the Partnership and its activities. You can ask for a speaker to come to your club or organization. You can volunteer your time/talents with future projects. And you can donate to the new Gang and Violence Prevention Partnership Endowment Fund, which will provide ongoing support for this project so that our vigilance in protecting our communities does not wane.

For information on how you can assist us in this fight against youth violence, please call Ken Mault at (989) 839-9661 ext. 32 or e-mail him at kmault@midlandfoundation.org.

Last updated on July 8, 2008 12:43pm.