The proposed project is the work of a partnership of 40 public, private, civic and faith based entities who conducted the most rigorous needs assessment ever completed in county history

Based on this analysis, a 6.2 square mile area, epicenter of crime and poverty, is targeted, with one elementary school, one middle, and one high school serving the area. Two goals have been established and include: goal 1: increase coalition and community infrastructure and capacity to successfully implement comprehensive school-based prevention and intervention initiatives to promote healing and increase safety, well-being and healthy development of children, youth and families. Goal 2: reduce the incidence and prevalence of youth violence and victimization, and mitigate the consequences of trauma experienced by children, youth and families exposed to violence. A continuum of solutions has been devised to address needs identified during the community assessment. All prevention and intervention strategies have been derived from national repositories of evidence-based service models.