Advance Youth Violence Prevention Strategy
Description
Why is This Important
Young people thrive when they have mentors, safe places to spend their time, and clear pathways to opportunity. This initiative coordinates partners across mentorship, recreation, mental health, workforce development, and other areas so every Akron young person has what they need to build a positive future.
Initiative Wins
Helped launch Youth Success Summit in October 2024 as the backbone organization for out-of-school time programming.
Built an ecosystem of 40+ community organizations focused on youth opportunity and violence prevention.
Completed Year 3 evaluation of the Strategic Plan with Summit Education Initiative.
Helped secure a $7-10M Wallace Foundation grant to support young people furthest from opportunity, with a pilot planned for the APS East Cluster.
Impact Spotlight
What We’ve Done This Quarter
Launched the Advancing Opportunities for Adolescence working group to begin designing the Wallace Foundation pilot in APS' East Cluster.
Began supporting the Summit County Mentoring Collaborative in recruiting mentors and streamlining mentorship programming to reduce the backlog of mentees and improve collective efforts.
What We’re Working on Next Quarter
Developing a grant program with the ADM Board designed to empower youth-focused organizations without an explicit mental health competency to implement strategies aimed at reducing stigma around mental health treatment.
Designing an elementary school program with APD and APS that connects violence prevention, relationship-building, and mentorship. Pilot for East Cluster expected in 2026.
Supporting Jobs for Ohio Graduates (JOGs) in creating summer work experiences for youth 16-18 by integrating City of Akron departments and community organizations into the program.
Partnering with Community Action and Vincent House to embed a community health worker within APS’ Project Rise to address social determinants of health risk factors and better support homeless families.