The university of chicago, working in partnership with kids off the block and the chicago gun violence research collaborative, proposes to implement the roseland youth rise project

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) awarded a $972,406 Cooperative Agreement under the Children Exposed to Violence program (CFDA 16.818) to the University of Chicago. The agreement will fund the implementation of the Roseland Youth RISE project in partnership with Kids Off the Block and the Chicago Gun Violence Research Collaborative. The project aims to build the capacity of the Roseland community on Chicago's South Side to support youth exposed to violence, enabling them to thrive. Key activities include: convening a multidisciplinary stakeholder team; engaging the community; developing screening infrastructure to identify at-risk youth; delivering mental health and social services; expanding after-school and vocational programs; and conducting program evaluations. Expected outcomes include a comprehensive community-informed plan, provision of services, and reductions in youth violence and unemployment in Roseland. Kids Off the Block will serve as a subrecipient, participating in the planning, providing mental health and social services, and delivering vocational and career exposure programs.

Roseland is a community on chicagos south side that is 95% black and has been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by inequality for decades. This programs purpose is to build the capacity of the roseland community to support youth exposed to violence to enable them to thrive and reach their full potential. Project activities include convening a newly created team of multidisciplinarystakeholders; engaging community members; developing and implementing a screening infrastructure to identify at-risk youth; delivering and connecting mental health and social services to youth and families; partnering with community-based organizations to expand capacity for after school programing; developing and implementing programs for vocational training and career exposure; and conducting an evaluation of the programs. Expected outcomes include the development of a coordinated, comprehensive, and community-informed plan to address youth exposed to violence in the roseland community; provision of services for youth and families; reduction in youth violence and young adult unemployment in the roseland community; and regular program assessments. Youth at risk for violence in the roseland community of chicago are the intended beneficiaries of the project. Subrecipient activities by kids off the block include participating in the multidisciplinary team and comprehensive plan development; hiring a dedicated social worker; delivering mental health and social services and facilitating linkages to care; expanding and conducting after school programs; and providing vocational training and career exposure programs. Together, this coordinated approach will help promote racial equity and remove barriers to access to opportunities for the youth of roseland to enable them to thrive in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood.