UNITY (Urban Networks to Increase Thriving Youth), a Prevention Institute (PI) initiative, builds community safety in cities through comprehensive, multi-sector strategies that prevent violence and support community resilience. PI partners with a group of the nation’s largest cities through UNITY and offers training and consultation, organizes convenings, develops and disseminates tools and materials, and conducts other network-building activities. By supporting practice and innovation, UNITY has been collectively advancing the field and shifting the paradigm on community violence and what cities can do about it since 2005. UNITY is engaged in a number of areas important to cities, such as addressing and preventing community trauma; the role of public health in supporting law enforcement and community relationships; engaging multiple-sectors in effective prevention, including the business sector; and, community-centered health systems taking action to prevent violence. UNITY is supported by grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit. Previous funders include the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Langeloth Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation, and The Kresge Foundation.
PI and the UNITY City Network are partnering with the Center for the Study of Social Policy and its Early Childhood Learning and Innovation Network for Communities (EC LINC) to identify strategic policy, practice, systems, and norms change levers to promote safe communities and optimal development for young children. Read more about Cradle to Community: A focus on community safety.
UNITY City Network
Baltimore, MD
Boston, MA
Chicago, IL
Cleveland, OH
Denver, CO
Hillsborough County, FL
Houston, TX
Kansas City, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Louisville, KY
Milwaukee, WI
Minneapolis, MN
Multnomah County, OR
New Orleans, LA
Oakland, CA
Oxnard, CA
Salinas/Monterey County, CA
Santa Clara County (San Jose), CA
Seattle/King County, WA
St. Louis, MO