This City of Hartford Office of Youth Services (HOYS) funded initiative is a (2007-08) pilot program focused primarily on youth ages 13 to 18 years of age who exhibit behaviors which could lead them to become violent. The initiative is intended to provide alternative approaches that can be shown to reduce aggressive and violent behavior in this age group.

Generally, the city is divided into three sectors North, Central, and South for the purpose of service coverage. However, the services and interventions for this prototype is focused on four neighborhoods that currently have the highest incidences of youth violent crime in Hartford (Northeast, Upper Albany, Frog Hollow, Barry Square), as reported by the Hartford Police Department crime data.

There were several agencies that applied for this city-wide grant of $450,000, with the following agencies awarded to share in the resources to implement the Peacebuilders program: Hartford Behavioral Health, Hartford Communities That Care, The Village for Families and Children, COMPASS, and Our Piece of the Pie. These awarded agencies also serve as members of the “Youth Crisis Intervention Collaborative” This team will specifically plan, coordinate, and implement community responses to address incidences of youth violence in the city. As a HOYS partner, the awarded agencies will also work in close contact and connection with the Hartford Public Schools and the Hartford Police Department, and other community and state stakeholders.

A key component of this prototype effort is the provision of intensive supervision and support through the Street Workers/Peacebuilders. These staff are not “traditional” social workers, case managers or professional counselors. Neither are they community organizers. Instead, they occupy a “hybrid” role and are expected to establish a rapport with the youth, which is part mentor, part navigator of the systems, part life-skills instructor and part liaison with the agency.

Through this effort, the HOYS seeks to achieve the following:

• Reduce the likelihood that a youth participant in the program will be a perpetrator or a victim of violence

• Reduce the level of delinquent behavior among participants

• Increase the participating youth’s ability to navigate the systems essential for their success such as, education, life skills, recreation, career and family

• Increase the participating youth’s empathy for others and attachment to their community

Youth for this initiative can be referred from multiple sources including (but not limited to) the court, juvenile probation, the Hartford school system, HOYS, the Hartford Police Department, Connecticut Department of Children and Families, community-based organizations and parents and caregivers. Participation on the part of the youth should remain voluntary. If the youth is not eligible, the staff person will provide the young person with a referral for the appropriate service in the community.