Building on our five years of working alongside the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention to develop the Blueprint for Peace, which is grounded in our Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience (ACE|R) framework, Prevention Institute is currently partnering with the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention to design a resident leadership and advocacy training focused on community organizing for community safety. We are also partnering with RTI, the Office of Violence Prevention, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to evaluate the implementation of the Blueprint.

Healing Community Trauma & Expanding Community Organizing through the Blueprint

In Partnership with Milwaukee residents (and community-based organizations?) and the Office of Violence Prevention, PI will co-design a community training that integrates community organizing strategies with an understanding the Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience framework. The overarching goal of the training is to prepare resident and youth leaders with the requisite knowledge and skills to lead community transformation efforts that promote safety, equity, and wellbeing for all. The training will cover topics such as:

• Understanding the relationship between community trauma and violence
• Articulating the historical and current context for Milwaukee neighborhoods
• Exploring the role of public agencies in inflicting harm as well as creating opportunities for healing
• Identifying community assets and strengths that can address community trauma and neighborhood conditions.
• Establishing operational norms for healing-centered strategies

PI will also co-develop a healing-centered train-the-trainer program whose goal will be to build the power of neighborhood residents to create safe communities. The train-the-trainer program will provide neighborhood leaders and youth organizers with skills in community organizing, preparing them for opportunities to sit across the table as equals with governmental decisionmakers and policymakers.

Research: Effectiveness of Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience (ACE|R) and Community Organizing for Preventing Youth Violence and ACEs

Prevention Institute will inform and advise the nonprofit research institute RTI International on an evaluation of the effectiveness of the ACE|R violence prevention framework combined with community organizing in stopping child abuse, neglect, and youth violence in Milwaukee. The project is funded by the CDC Division of Violence Prevention. As part of this research project, PI will partner with RTI and the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention to conduct a retrospective evaluation of the introduction of the ACE|R framework into Milwaukee through the creation of the Milwaukee-specific Blueprint for Peace.

This research will help guide and sustain implementation efforts in Milwaukee and adapt the approach for other cities.