Kids saving kids: How statewide reporting tools can help prevent, stop school shootings

Nonviolence Chicago uses street-outreach workers to mediate disputes and connect residents of violence-prone neighborhoods to needed services. Its work, amounting to tens of thousands of contacts per year with people involved in violence, has contributed to efforts that reduced homicides and nonfatal shootings in the Austin neighborhood by nearly half from 2016 to 2019. By replacing the police with former gang members and others with street credibility, and working with both victims and shooters, Nonviolence Chicago wins the trust of residents.

What started as a telephone tip line, Colorado’s anonymous tip program, Safe2Tell has now become an app that is publicly funded and part of the Attorney General’s office. The program gives students a way to report potentially dangerous situations they hear about or read online. While Safe2Tell does receive some false reports, overall, it has bolstered a sense of trust and protection in schools across the state.

The refugee crisis in Syria is one of modern society's greatest diasporas. Syria's refugee children are not a lost generation, but the country's next generation, according to volunteers who want to prepare them for the future.

Game of Life Mentoring (GOL) uses basketball and other sports as a bridge to build mental health skills, improve emotional regulation and open employment pathways for at-risk youth ages 12–26. Founded in response to gun violence and youth suicide in the community, the program pairs physical activity with intentional life skills instruction, conflict resolution and job training. Over 2,000 young people have participated in the program, and 160 participants have secured employment — including 65 who got their first job through GOL.

Mr. Dad’s Father’s Club mentors local youth to nurture their social and emotional well-being, making them better equipped to handle the world around them. The Club also provides mentorships for fathers, helping them learn how to be more present in their children’s lives as research indicates the presence of positive role models can make youth more resilient when exposed to violent or negative environments. There are currently over 150 fathers who volunteer for events with the Club.

She Writes Woman, provides safe spaces for those in need to receive mental healthcare services. As of this year, She Writes Woman receives about 200 calls on its toll-free helpline each day, serving a community of about 45,000 people.

The Street Crisis Response Team program is an alternative to policing made up of first-responder teams trained in trauma-informed crisis management. These teams can be dispatched for non-violent mental or behavioral health emergencies in public spaces and focus on compassion and trust-building in the community to de-escalate crises. They can also transport people to hospitals, shelters, or places to receive other mental health interventions.

Maternal Expert Thinking Analyzer is a pilot project to prevent maternal mortality that uses a mobile diagnostic, training, and outreach application to help midwives assess the risk of their patients in rural areas. Midwives input data collected from pregnant mothers into the app and generate an automated risk-based assessment score. The pregnant mother then receives a text with advice based on her risk level. A total of 33 midwives across 14 regions are trained to use the app. Initial results indicate that the app has had positive results preventing maternal mortality and even increasing antenatal care.

The Violence Intervention Program at the University of Maryland Medical Center's Shock Trauma Center helps people meet basic needs after they have suffered a gunshot injury. Along with clothing, transportation vouchers, and toothbrushes, the program's social workers also provide talk therapy. The goal is to keep victims of violence from becoming victims again, and the approach is to build trust by giving the help without strings attached. Many people return for the help, and the therapy.

Outreach workers with CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny) in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood are paid under a city grant to de-escalate and mediate disputes among the same gangs that some of the workers once belonged to. Able to win the trust of people who distrust the police, CRED's violence prevention workers also provide therapy to trauma victims and job development help, in order to address the underlying causes of violence in a neighborhood where a lack of hope can breed a lack of respect for others' lives. Fatal shootings in Roseland are down by one-third while up elsewhere in Chicago.