The Boston Foundation and the Boston Centers for Youth and Families will collaborate to create a comprehensive public safety strategy, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Saturday.
The Boston Foundation has pledged $3.1 million in funding over three years, “which will allow for the integration of the StreetSafe program into a city-wide expansion of on-the-ground outreach to youth at risk of violent crime, in coordination with the Boston Police Department and the Mayor’s Public Safety Initiative,” according to a Saturday press release.
“The beauty of all of this is it’s one strategy, not two strategies or three strategies,” said Christopher Byner, interim executive director of BCYF. “It gives us a real city-wide flexibility in terms of being able to engage youth across the entire spectrum. Whether they’re at risk, proven risk, high risk, we’ll be able to have a good amount of staff on the street to engage youth and young adults seven days out of the week.”
StreetSafe Boston deploys Streetworkers to build relationships with at-risk youth and young adults, maintain those relationships and connect them to viable, positive opportunities, he said.
BCYF’s program currently has a staff of 28 street workers and four senior Streetworkers, Byner said. They have decided to bring on the positions from StreetSafe, but will not guarantee the jobs of current staff members. Byner said they would need to reapply for their positions.
“I know that we play a critical role in preventing violence, and we certainly have data in terms of moving folks along the continuum and connecting them to workforce development opportunities, employment opportunities, getting them back in school, getting them in substance abuse programs, mediating disputes, doing some conflict resolution, things like that,” he said.
The merge will build upon the BCYF’s Violence Interrupters Program, launched in 1990, and the Boston Foundation’s StreetSafe Boston Initiative, launched in 2009, according to the release.
The City will create a strategy that applies to all neighborhoods and targets the top 45 gangs in Boston, the release stated.
“We’ve had success working with BPD and some of the city departments in terms of addressing issues as it relates to violence in the city,” Byner said. “And Boston has often been seen as a beacon in terms of violence prevention. We’re certainly trying to play a key role in that.”
Walsh will receive an annual report containing data about positive education and workforce outcomes, the number of youth who turn to Violence Interrupters for support and the number of youth interventions and gang mediations conducted, according to the release.
“Engaging with youth and giving them the tools to succeed, has been shown to have a significant impact on their future outcomes,” Walsh said in the release. “Expanding the number of Violence Interrupters in Boston’s communities through a coordinated effort will make our neighborhoods stronger and safer. I want to thank the Boston Foundation for this generous contribution that will make a difference in the lives of many Boston youth.”
The original StreetSafe Boston is set to expire on Dec. 31.
Several residents said the program could have a significant impact on the youth impacted by violence in the city.
Ellen Janos, 64, of the North End, said Boston’s history of gang violence could have a negative consequence on youth.
“Girls and boys that grow up in the city are influenced by their surroundings, and Boston is notorious for having experienced gang violence in the past,” she said. “It’s about time that the issue is addressed because otherwise, it will continue to harm Boston’s youth.”
Martha Suresh, 45, of Dorchester, said The Boston Foundation and BYCF are taking on a problem that is too large to handle.
“It’s a bit ambitious to make a change in 45 of Boston’s top gangs,” she said. “These gangs have been around since [James] ‘Whitey’ Bulger, and they affect the livelihoods of many people.”
Namita Murthy, 26, of Back Bay, said the plan is a great opportunity to give teenagers in Boston a second chance.
“Black and Latino boys in Boston will finally be given a chance to alter their futures,” she said. “I fully support this public safety plan and … this will also help desegregate our community.”
Sarah Poff contributed to the reporting of this article.
