Victims of violence gathered to find strength in their stories and look ahead to state funding aimed at preventing violence among Massachusetts youth during Victim Rights Awareness Day at the State House yesterday.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley said violence prevention programs are not a luxury but an investment.

“Every cent we spend on violence prevention is well spent,” she said.

Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said potential budget cuts could hurt prevention programs and a one-dimensional approach to prevention would be ineffective.

“A better approach has to do with education, housing, multi-disciplinary approaches,” which require substantial funding, he said.

Gov. Deval Patrick said only a multilateral approach would stop violence and break up crime that has permeated everyday live.

“It’s not just that moment of violence or intrusion or vulnerability that has lasting effects,” he said. “Violence creeps into the daily lives and routines of victims, witnesses and perpetrators alike.”

Hubie Jones, Boston University School of Social Work dean emeritus, said 87 percent of Boston high school students have witnessed violence, 44 percent have been victims of violence and 20 percent of violence against youth happened at home, according to a 2004 survey.

Jones said he founded the Boston Children’s Choir to counteract psychological damage inflicted on these youths exposed to violence.

“There is no quick fix that money can buy,” he said. “There is a personal price to pay.”

Programs like the choir gives children a venue for self-expression through the arts to keep them from turning to violence themselves and public school funding for music and art programs is one of many approaches to keep Massachusetts youth safe from violence, he said.

“We are witnessing bullying in elementary and middle schools becoming rites of passage,” Jones said.

Twelve-year-old Hillario Antonio Arthurton Jr. read his essay that qualified as a finalist in a national anti-violence essay contest, about the deaths of two close relatives. Hillario used his personal example to encourage others to stop violence by refusing to participate and creating havens for children.

“If you did not feel the pain as Hillario read, you are among the walking dead,” Jones said.

Ann Capoccia, coordinator of interagency activities for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, Children’s Services, said violence prevention is a top state priority as often the victims are children.

Massachusetts needs more support for a culture that supports peaceful ways of relating and being, Capoccia said.

In the past 10 years she has worked in urban areas, “it doesn’t seem like we’ve made a lot of headway,” she said.