The proposed project by roca, INC. Will use the OJP community based violence intervention and prevention initiative grant to expand violence intervention services for youth and young adult females…

The proposed project by roca, INC. Will use the OJP community based violence intervention and prevention initiative grant to expand violence intervention services for youth and young adult females between the ages of 14 and 24 who are the most likely to shoot or be shot in the massachusetts cities of springfield, holyoke, and chicopee and the connecticut cities of hartford, east hartford, manchester, and new britain. Roca will conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to develop a community violence intervention and prevention plan that addresses the unique and complex issues that impact young womens involvement in violence. Roca will also implement its proven four-year, internationally recognized behavior change model to address the extreme levels of trauma and victimization experienced by these young women, help them create long term behavior change, stop engaging in violence, and achieve physical and emotional safety and economic stability. Through grip, roca will collaborate with relevant partners to develop and implement a comprehensive community violence reduction plan. Grip has been designed to ensure that those at highest risk will demonstrate improved emotional regulation, improved mental health, reduced levels of distress, reduced drug/alcohol use, cognitive/behavioral gains, employment retention, no new arrests, and no new incarcerations. Key objectives of this project are to: 1) identify the factors that lead to young womens involvement in violence and how to mitigate them through assessment and evaluation activities; 2) provide trauma-informed, intensive, long-term services, including and relentless outreach and case management, to 275 high-risk young women; 3) utilize cognitive behavioral supports, harm reduction programming, and restorative justice practices to ensure measurable improvements in behavioral, mental, and relationship health; and 4) provide comprehensive programming including life skills, education, and employment to increase economic stability. Through this work, roca will help these young women meet their basic needs and provide a comprehensive combination of intensive case management, rewire CBT, service referral, trauma-informed transitional employment, and workforce development services.