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BOSTON
- Tuesday, October 20, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Offices of
Health and Human Services and Public Safety today announced $1,000,000 in
grant funding through the 2021 Youth Development Fund to support and
increase youth development and violence prevention programming. With this
funding, the City of Boston is targeting two priority areas: youth violence
prevention programming and a continuum of support to fill gaps in existing
programming. Up to 25 nonprofits will be selected to receive funding and
awards will vary in size up to $100,000, with $75,000 of the funds reserved
to be awarded for the 2021 summer. Applications for grant funding
are now open, and responses are due by Monday, November 9, 2020 at 5:00
p.m.
"In
Boston, we are committed to expanding access to youth programming and
violence prevention strategies because we know this is important for our
residents' public health and public safety," said Mayor Walsh.
"At a time of increased stress and uncertainty as we continue to face
the COVID-19 pandemic, this additional programming is vital now more than
ever. I look forward to working with partner organizations to further our
reach in engaging the youth in our community."
Priority One: Youth Violence Prevention
Grants
targeting youth violence prevention will be funded to nonprofit
organizations using evidence-based strategies that work to shape individual
behaviors, and address relationship, community, and societal factors that
influence risk and protective factors for violence. Programming must be for
Boston youth ages 10-24.
Examples
of youth violence prevention strategies include:
- Strengthening youth's skills
- Connecting youth to caring
adults and activities
- Creating protective community
environments
- Intervening to lessen harms and
prevent future risk
Priority Two: Continuum Support
Funding
will support nonprofit organizations whose activities and services address
the City of Boston's identified needs in the youth and young adult violence
prevention continuum. For Fiscal Year 2021, these gaps include:
- Services for youth and young
adults up to age 30 that address unmet needs created by or directly
related to COVID-19.
- Case management or supportive
services for school-age youth ages 13-18 who are Department of Youth
Services-involved or high-risk for gang involvement due to history of
neighborhood or family gang activity.
- Programs aimed at mitigating or
preventing the use of social media to incite or promote violence,
focused on ages 18 to 30.
Building
on his commitment to bolstering the City of Boston's coordinated,
cross-departmental violence prevention efforts and continued investments in
opportunities for youth, Mayor Walsh has doubled funding for the Youth
Development Fund each year for the past three years. For Fiscal Year 2019,
Mayor Walsh invested $250,000 into the Youth Development Fund, $500,000 was
allotted for Fiscal Year 2020, and for Fiscal Year 2021, Mayor Walsh has
committed $1,000,000.
"As
the City continues to respond to the impacts of COVID-19, part of our work
to keep residents safe and healthy must include ensuring the continuity of
youth engagement and violence prevention programming," said Chief of
Health and Human Services Marty Martinez. "I look forward to
partnering with nonprofit organizations working directly with the
community."
In
an effort to centralize youth violence prevention services and strategies,
the City of Boston has transitioned the Fund to the Office of Health and
Human Services to administer in an effort to strengthen the City's
collaboration among nonprofit organizations and city departments working to
increase youth engagement and development, and violence prevention. The
Office of Health and Human Services includes the city's Office of Public
Safety.
"The
effectiveness of the City of Boston's violence prevention strategy and
framework is dependent on our continued collaboration with our non-profit
partners," said Director of Public Safety Rufus Faulk. "The
Mayor's Office of Public Safety relies heavily on the contextual expertise
of our external partners and our ability to increase the funding available
(through the YDF) to these nonprofit partners will further support their
efforts to ensure that all of Boston's youth have the opportunity to
succeed."
The
City of Boston seeks to fund nonprofits that complement the violence
prevention work of the City. For the 2020 summer, the City of Boston added
$4.2 million in funding to provide 8,000 youth jobs and engagement
opportunities. The Mayor's Summer Jobs Program works to empower youth by
connecting them to jobs that provide mentorship and guidance, and promote
skill building and networking opportunities that create lasting professional
pathways to success.
In
addition to increasing the investment into the Youth Development Fund,
Mayor Walsh has allocated $600,000 into SOAR Boston (Street Outreach,
Advocacy, and Response) to improve services and hire additional staff for
the program. SOAR Boston engages gang-involved youth and young adults.
Also, under Mayor Walsh's leadership, in 2016, the Neighborhood Trauma Team
(NTT) was created by the Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC). The NTT
supports a coordinated and comprehensive approach to providing citywide
trauma response and recovery services for all residents. There are
currently six teams that serve Boston residents: Bowdoin Geneva/Greater
Four Corners, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Roxbury and Grove
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