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We Meet Them Where They Are: The Importance of Mentoring as a Component of Youth Gang Violence Intervention

By National Gang Center, Reprinted from the National Mentoring Resource Center “Gangs meet kids where they are. We have to do the same thing” (Amber Govan, Carter’s Crew). This statement captures the valuable relationship between youth violence intervention professionals and the young people with whom they work. When people think about violence intervention efforts, they […]

Social-emotional development is critical to prevent youth violence

Malti, T. (2020). Children and Violence: Nurturing Social‐Emotional Development to Promote Mental Health. Social Policy Report, 33(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/sop2.8 Summarized Monica Arkin Notes of interest: While research on violence in children and youth tends to focus on risk factors, this article focuses on protective factors. Positive social-emotional development is a central protective factor that helps children […]

Supporting young people in the wake of violence and trauma

 National Mentoring Resource Center Description of Resource: This guide provides mentors with recommendations and resources to help them support youth who have faced experiences with violence or trauma. Topics addressed include helping youth process their emotions, ask for help, and channel uncertain feelings into positive action. The resource includes information on a mentor’s role in […]

Researchers propose pyramid model for mentoring African American youth

Washington, G., Barnes, D., & Watts, R. J. (2014). Reducing risk for youth violence by promoting healthy development with pyramid mentoring: A proposal for a culturally centered group mentoring. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 24646-657. doi:10.1080/10911359.2014.922789 Summarized by Julia Mancini   Notes of Interest: This article describes the development of a comprehensive […]

New research shows teen dating violence contributes to a cycle of violence later in life

Posted by Lisa Chedekel, Boston University Violence in early dating experiences can contribute to “a cycle of interpersonal violence through adulthood,” experts warn. For a new study, researchers analyzed data from a nationally representative sample of US high school and middle school students, ages 12 to 17, who were followed into adulthood 5 and 12 […]

Mentoring plays integral role in reducing gun violence in one of America’s most violent cities

By Wayne Drash and Tawanda Scott Sambou, CNN The four teens kick back and talk openly with their mentor. They discuss job opportunities, the need for support and the possibility of a trip out of state. They’re relaxing in the lobby of a city agency, one outfitted with a couch and wing chairs to make […]

Chicago Teens And Combat Veterans Join Forces To Process Trauma

AUDIE CORNISH NPR If you took a map of Chicago and put down a tack for each person shot last year, you’d need nearly 3,000 tacks. Of those, 101 would be clustered in the neighborhood of East Garfield Park. That’s where 15-year-old Jim Courtney-Clarks lives. “To be honest, I really don’t like it,” Courtney-Clarks says. […]

Nonprofit seeks to end violence by mentoring youth

by Maria Sestito The (Jacksonville) Daily News Published: Monday, August 17, 2015 at 12:30 a.m. S.O.U.L. (Support, Opportunity, Unity, Leadership) Society kicked off its first few weeks as a nonprofit by holding a peace festival. The My Brother’s Keeper Peace Festival, held July 25, was an effort by organizers to begin a dialogue about violence, […]

Chicago Mentoring Program Effective in Reducing Youth Violence - The Chronicle of Evidence-Based Mentoring

Chicago mentoring program proves effective in reducing youth violence

Cheng, T., Haynie, D., Brenner, R., Wright, J., Chung, S., & Simons-Morton, B. (2008). Effectiveness of a mentor-implemented, violence prevention intervention for assault-injured youths presenting to   the emergency department: Results of a randomized trial. Pediatrics, 122, 938-946. Effectiveness of mentor-implemented, violence prevention intervention for assault-injured youths Problem: In the United States, violent injuries are […]