UNITY Updates

Minneapolis Mayor Rybak: "We Know What to Do"
Mayor R.T. Rybak resolved to prevent violence upon leaving a child’s funeral, and he has seen first-hand how the public health approach has transformed Minneapolis. Read this new UNITY publication for ideas to engage key decision-makers in your city and to learn why Mayor Rybak champions prevention.

For more on Minneapolis’ efforts, read “Blueprint for Action—Preventing Violence in Minneapolis,” part of UNITY’s City Voices and Perspectives series. Also visit the city's youth violence prevention web page, and read "Minneapolis Creates Blueprint to Prevent Youth Violence" at STRYVE Online.

Strategic Direction for UNITY & Partners
Read the UNITY Advisory Meeting summary to learn why we need a social movement that saves lives and fosters thriving youth. Representatives of the UNITY Steering Committee, partner organizations and other leaders gathered at The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta to explore ways to build and sustain momentum for a public health approach to preventing violence. Six major themes emerged at the December meeting:

• Engaging Survivors
• “Second-Hand Trauma,” i.e., understanding how trauma from exposure to violence can impact entire populations, not just individual victims
• All Violence Is Connected
• Evaluation in Context
• Violence Reframed
• Expanded Impact, especially through partnerships and networks

Read full details and next steps in the UNITY Advisory Meeting Synthesis.

March 22: UNITY Webinar on the Community Safety Scorecard
Join UNITY Co-Chair Billie Weiss and other evaluation experts to learn about an innovative place-based model, the Community Safety Scorecard. The Scorecard identifies safety gaps across Los Angeles neighborhoods and measures the same specific resilience and risk factors in every community. Learn how to pinpoint the areas of your city that require the most urgent attention, and how to use data to guide smart investment decisions. Register for this UNITY webinar, the inaugural event of the webinar series highlighting Data & Evaluation, a component of the UNITY RoadMap.
 

National Injury Center Online Resources
The latest fact sheet from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control highlights online resources and databases for preventing violence against children and young people. “Saving Lives and Protecting People: Preventing Violence Against Children and Youth" recognizes UNITY's contributions to the field.
 

UNITY Staff Update
Prevention Institute welcomes Edward-Michael Muña, who supports UNITY and other initiatives that prevent violence. Edward brings valuable skills to the UNITY team with his experience coordinating educational campaigns and leading community mobilization activities. Read his full bio.

 

 

A Prevention Institute initiative, UNITY is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in part by The Kresge Foundation. For more information, visit www.preventioninstitute.org/unity.