Violence-Free Zone Initiative
An Evidence-Based Model for Stopping Violence in the Schools & Creating Peace in the Community
The Violence-Free Zone is the national model of a youth violence reduction and high-risk youth mentoring program created by the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise. Designed to operate in the most trouble-plagued schools in urban centers with high crime and violence, the VFZ has produced measurable decreases in violent and non-violent incidents and suspensions in more than 30 public middle and high schools across the country. The principles developed in the Violence-Free Zone model also have proved applicable to suburban and rural communities.
A study of six Milwaukee high schools by evaluators from Baylor University reported that the VFZ had measurable impacts in improved safety, reduction in suspensions and truancies, and increased academic performance. Educators and law enforcement officers from sites around the country have praised the VFZ for changing the culture of previously violent schools and reducing crime in surrounding neighborhoods (see What They Said).
Dallas VFZ leadership with
high school principal
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Baltimore Youth Advisor with students.
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HOW IT WORKS
The goal of the Violence-Free Zone initiative is to reduce violence and disruptions in the schools and prepare students for learning. The Center selects established youth-serving organizations to be its community partners and implement the VFZ program in the schools. These organizations have the goal of stopping violence in their neighborhoods and have demonstrated that they have the trust and confidence of young people. CNE provides overall management and direction to the VFZ sites, including training in the Violence-Free Zone national model, technical assistance, administrative and financial oversight, and linkages to sources of support.
Central to the school VFZ program are the Youth Advisors--mature young adults who are from the same neighborhoods as students in the schools they serve. The Youth Advisors command trust and respect because they have faced and overcome the same challenges as the students. Carefully screened, hired, and managed by the local community-partner organization, the Youth Advisors work in the schools as hall monitors, mediators, character coaches, and role models. They also mentor the high-risk students that often are responsible for disruptions or who are facing the greatest challenges.
The Center has created an extensive data collection protocol and receives data from the site organizations, the schools, and police to provide a comparison of results before and after the program is initiated, and to track the progress of individual students.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Contact: Kwame Toure Johnson - National Violence Free Zone Project Director
Center for Neighborhood Enterprise
1625 K Street NW, Suite 1200
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: 202-518-6500 ext: 249
Email: kjohnson@cneonline.org
INFORMATION ABOUT SITES AND LEAD ORGANIZATIONS
Atlanta, GA - Visions Unlimited
Baltimore, MD - New Vision Youth Services
Dallas, TX - Vision/Regeneration, Inc.
Milwaukee, WI - The Latino Community Center and Running Rebels Community Organization
Richmond, VA - The Richmond Outreach Center (The ROC)
