Citywide Coordinating Council for Youth Violence Prevention (CCCYVP)

The Citywide Coordinating Council for Youth Violence Prevention (CCCYVP) strives to reduce youth violence not by punitive measures, but by reaching young people where they are and intervening in their lives in a positive way.

Since 2009, the Trust has supported the work of the CCCYVP and now manages the District’s $1 million investment in the initiative, which involves the collaboration of three nonprofit organizations: the Columbia Heights Shaw Family Support Collaborative, East of the River Clergy, Police, Community Partnership and Peaceoholics. The community-based organizations have worked together to identify the various gangs and crews in DC neighborhoods and their members – enabling agencies and youth workers to determine both likely aggressors and victims.

The CCCYVP model involves three steps: targeted outreach, engagement and case management. The model is based on findings from a March 2009 report commissioned by DC Councilmember Jim Graham (Ward 1) and the Council of the District of Columbia. Responding to Gang, Crew and Youth Violence in the District of Columbia: A Blueprint for Action recommends using a comprehensive, collaborative, youth development-oriented approach to addressing youth violence.

In 2009, CCCYVP’s second year in existence, the District saw a 30-percent drop in youth homicides, a year in which homicides generally declined citywide. The Trust is working diligently with CCCYVP to maintain this downward trend in 2010.