Shannon Community Safety Initiative
Shannon Community Safety Initiative / Safe and Successful Youth Initiative
What is the Shannon Community Safety Initiative?
The Senator Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative (Shannon CSI) is a state grant program administered by the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) to "support regional and multi-disciplinary approaches to combat gang violence through coordinated programs for prevention and intervention." These multi-disciplinary approaches may include, but are not limited to, law enforcement initiatives such as anti-gang task forces and targeting of enforcement resources through the use of crime mapping; focused prosecution efforts; programs aimed at successful reintegration of released inmates and youth from juvenile detention; and programs that provide youth with supervised out-of-school activities.
What is the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative?
The Safe and Successful Youth Initiative provides grants to municipalities that join with community partners to implement violence prevention programs. The program, which operates directly under the auspices of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), is part of a broader state initiative to reduce youth violence in Massachusetts.
The Safe and Successful Youth Initiative focuses on young men between the ages of 14-24 who are at risk of being victims or perpetrators of violence. Grants are awarded to municipalities with high levels of youth-related homicides and other assaults. Communities that receive grants must show that they have relationships with community partners, including educational, medical, and behavioral health programs and community and faith-based organizations, and they must implement strategies to coordinate services and fill gaps in services for young men. Activities supported by the grants include street outreach, trauma counseling and employment programs.
Assessment Form Instructions
The Shannon Assessment form should be filled out by the individual making the assessment. Download the form here.
Shannon CSI Agencies
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army - Bridging the Gap
The Bridging the Gap program was the recipient of the US Attorney’s National “Outstanding Juvenile Program” Award.
The Bridging the Gap program provides well-structured, comprehensive personal development, education, and community service-learning experience to court involved, first-time offenders, who are low to moderate income and are at-risk for gang involvement. The program provides opportunities for personalized tutorial services such as, MCAS prep, life skills, gang awareness, health education, occupational therapy, anger management, counseling, mediation, and conflict resolution. Each participant is court ordered to complete 12 weeks with a 12 week follow up. Around 20 to 25 students are involved at any given time. Over the projected length of the program (1 year), approximately 125 + adolescents would be enrolled. Upon completion of the program, their record will be expunged. Parents are required to attend four meetings during the 12-week period with the experience culminating with a graduation event.
Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services
The MLK "Shadow Me" program is designed to reduce the number of violent incidences of physical fighting, assaults with deadly weapons, and other aggressive and disruptive behavior in academic and community settings. Their focus is to actively reach out and engage high at-risk youth in the city as a means of developing positive and healthy relationships. Their model includes search, coaching, relationship building, advocacy, goal setting, and measurement tracking. They focus on collaboration with other Shannon partners, juvenile court, and the Hampden County Sheriff's Department.
Night Spot program provides at-risk youth with GED classes, career training, job development and placement, and higher education opportunities.
Visit the MLK Family Services site for more information.
Springfield Boys and Girls Club - Carew Street
Each year for the past six years, the Boys and Girls Club has serviced 100 teen youth from one of the City's most disadvantaged areas. They provide opportunities for teen youth to attend youth programming Tuesday-Friday 6:30-9:30pm and on Saturday 12-5pm. The groups of teens participate in college tours, job shadowing events, anti-gang violence presentations, leadership and character development events, and job readiness training. They have successfully placed 50 youth in employment through the New England Farm Workers Union.
YMCA of Greater Springfield
The Y-AIM program (Achieve academically, Inspire to attend college, and Move toward personal family and community advancement), provides academic support and counseling for at-risk youth at the City's high schools. They will track 175 youth, ages 13-18 to increase the number of high school graduates, increase home supports/and involvement via family events. The Y will also focus on the high truancy rates in the neighborhood. In the summer, the Y sponsors 20 youth to attend the Counselor in training program and teen camp experience. At the Dunbar, the YMCA will host teen and family nights, and award ceremonies with incentives throughout the duration of the program. The Y programming boasts and 89% attendance rate by the youth involved.
Visit the Springfield YMCA website for more information.
New North Citizens Council
In the New North Citizens Council (NNCC) afterschool program, youth will strengthen peer and adult relationships, improve or maintain grades, participate in community service and receive mentoring by staff! Together we will explore diverse opportunities to broaden each participant's knowledge, skills & abilities through foundational principles on effective leadership. We will learn about a variety of career pathways, visit colleges, and have diverse guest speakers and field trips.
Visit the New North Citizens Council website for more information.
Springfield Boys and Girls Club Family Center
South End Community Center
The South End Community Center's Community Youth Corps (CYC) promotes community awareness and community participation as an alternative to gang involvement, while gaining the necessary leadership skills needed in today's society. Each participant will gain self-discipline, improve self-confidence, and increase self esteem. The program serves South End Community Center youth, from 14 to 18 years old.
CYC will be limited to 30 youth members. Each group of youth will be supervised by the program coordinator on two different days per week. Services include business and economics exposure, health fitness and nutrition, career planning and higher education, exposure to elements of the criminal justice system, and performing arts and culture.
Visit the South End Community Center website for more information.
Greater New Life Christian Center
The Teen Opportunity Program (TOP) will serve thirty at-risk youth in their carpentry skills program. CSP, Video Interface and Production (VIP),featuring videos, audio, and graphics operations in this media literacy youth tracking to create videos, documentaries, and produce films. Their Joyful Academy of Music (JAM) program uses musical production, vocal and instrumental performances, under the direction of the City Beat's TV program. Their youth programming is consistent with the best practices model outlined in several publications of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Visit the Greater New Life Christian Center website for more information.
YWCA of Western Mass
The fifth-largest YWCA in the country!
Founded in 1868, the YWCA of Western Massachusetts has served our region for more than 150 years, guided by its founding principle to provide shelter, support services, and tools for self-sufficiency for women and girls in our community. Today, the YWCA of Western Massachusetts is one of the largest of the 300 local YW Associations in the United States, providing support to nearly 2,000 individuals annually. The YW exists to fulfill its mission of eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.
The H.E.R.E Project stands for Healthy, Empowering, Relationships and Education, we are a violence prevention program from the YWCA of Western Massachusetts. Our program works to prevent youth violence through prevention education, peer mentoring, and youth leadership throughout the City of Springfield. We educate the youth on healthy relationship dynamics, bystander intervention, and warning signs of human trafficking. We work to empower youth to participate in our programs through activities, video components, discussions about healthy coping, and help-seeking skills. Our program focuses on youth aged 12–18-year-olds. Our goal is to build a safer community by building up our youth and breaking cycles of violence to ensure a healthy and prosperous future.
The Mission Inc.
C3 Shoot Hoops
The Shoot Hoops C3 Citywide Program is a partnership with various Springfield agencies with a long-term goal of reaching youth and families in various C3 neighborhoods. Our vehicle is basketball, but the goal is to develop relationships with youth and families to build safer, stronger and economically viable neighborhoods in the C3 neighborhoods.
To learn more about the program please refer to the following document, What is C3 Shoot Hoops.
ReGreen Springfield Inc.
ReGreen Springfield is dedicated to the revitalization and enhancement of urban forests and green spaces throughout the city of Springfield, Massachusetts. Its mission is to restore and maintain the city's tree canopy, which not only beautifies neighborhoods but also contributes to environmental sustainability, public health, and community well-being. By fostering community involvement and partnerships with local organizations, schools, and government agencies, ReGreen Springfield aims to educate residents about the importance of urban forests and empower them to actively participate in the care and expansion of green spaces in their communities.
The organization undertakes a variety of projects, including tree planting initiatives, environmental education programs, and the development of community gardens and green spaces. ReGreen Springfield collaborates with numerous partners, including the City of Springfield, local businesses, educational institutions, and non-profits, to maximize the impact of its efforts. Key activities include organizing community-based tree planting events, conducting water quality sampling programs, and participating in research efforts to assess and enhance urban forest health. Through these projects, ReGreen Springfield works to improve air and water quality, reduce urban heat islands, and create healthier, more resilient neighborhoods across Springfield.
Follow this link for more information on ReGreen Springfield.
COGIC Family Services Inc.
COGIC Family Services (CFS)
CFS facilitates the provision of academic, economic, and social opportunities that focus on educational training and academic support through its after-school program. CFS has a long-standing history of providing effective, community-based services for community residents in need of prevention and intervention, emergency support, and parenting skills, among others. At the core of CFS programming for this initiative is their After School Program, which assists youth in making meaningful transitions from adolescence to adulthood through academic and life skills mentoring that focuses on productive adulthood.
CFS addresses the issue of gang violence by supportively identifying the triggers of involvement with at-risk youth. CFS tracks youth to accomplish the following goals:
- Increased school attendance
- Health & Wellness
- Decreased school drop-out rate
- Youth development through academic and social mentoring
- Youth development through athletics
- Building self-esteem through targeted programs
- Developing Leadership skills through participation in programs offered
- Drug and Violence Prevention
Follow this link for more information on COGIC Family Services.
Safe and Successful Youth Initiative Agencies
Baystate Health
ROCA, Inc.
ROCA has developed a unique strategy in working with high-risk youth built upon evidence based and best practices. Their Intervention model, built on this best practices model, is utilized the programming they provide for proven risk youth in the City's Safe and Successful Youth Initiative.
It is their proven record of effectively providing outreach in high crime areas that makes their inclusion in this Shannon program worthy of consideration. The Shannon program will partially fund one ROCA outreach worker to identify and refer in a prevention mode to a Shannon agency identified to best meet the needs of the outreached youth. Street outreach has been crucial in locating youth in the places where they hang out. All youth located are not necessarily proven risk and the Shannon funded outreach position will now have an opportunity to refer other than proven risk youth to community based for service.
Refer to the ROCA website for more information.