Our Work
When community members combine their local expertise with what we know works from the science of violence prevention, communities can unleash their power. CSPV leads the Youth Violence Prevention Center – Denver (YVPC-D) which partners with local community organizations in Denver’s Far Northeast and Park Hill communities to identify, implement, and evaluate community-wide strategies that create safe, supportive environments for all young people.
The Power of Prevention
The Youth Violence Prevention Center-Denver (YVPC-D) project is funded through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC commissioned a promotional video entitled “The Power of Prevention” to highlight the work of the YVPC-D. In this video, viewers will meet some of the YVPC-D project’s critical partners, and follow a spark of positive energy as it jumps between partners and community members during the course of violence prevention activities in Denver’s Park Hill and Montbello neighborhoods.
Our Partners
CSPV is proud to be designated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of five Youth Violence Prevention Centers (YVPC) and recognized as a national center of excellence. The national YVPC program aims to prevent violence against youth by linking research to practice, building local infrastructure to support interventions, and enhancing academic and community partnerships.
CSPV collaborates with two local coalitions, Steps to Success in Montbello and Park Hill Strong in Park Hill, to support and sustain youth violence prevention efforts.
Other current key partners include Denver Metro Community Impact, Athletics and Beyond, Kids Above Everything, Park Hill Falcons, Park Hill Pirates, Star Girlz Empowerment and Struggle of Love Foundation.
Our Impact
YVPC-D is currently engaged in the development, implementation, and evaluation of three violence prevention strategies identified by our community partners.
To support the three strategies, YVPC-D relies on a Youth Advisory Council to ensure the strategies represent the values and priorities of the community youth.
All strategies also incorporate students, interns, and other opportunities for early career researchers to learn about preventing violence against youth through engagement with the work.
Strategy 1: The Power of One
Youth leadership, empowerment and skill-building movement framed as a youth-driven social norming and media campaign to prevent and reduce violence against youth, led by Youth Leaders and Youth Ambassadors. Activities include:
1- Digital and social media advertising and interactive content promoting youth violence prevention messages and strategies
2- Virtual and live youth events to provide opportunities for pro-social interaction with peers
Strategy 2: Connecting Youth to Community Resources
A community-supported process that empowers community members to prevent violence against youth by connecting youth to wraparound services that support and create prosocial opportunities within the community
Strategy 3: Enhancing Youth Athletics and Career Development Organizations
Customized technical assistance and capacity-building for grassroots youth-serving organizations to enhance their evaluation efforts, embed research-based violence against youth prevention practices in their programming, and increase their resources to serve more youth more effectively
The Violence Injury Protection & Risk Screen (VIPRS)
The Violence Injury Protection and Risk Screen (VIPRS) was created by Dr. Eric Sigel to determine if youth are at risk for perpetrating future violence. We integrate this tool into our strategies to identify youth who may be at risk and connect them to the appropriate resources and supports. For more information visit: www.tvradenver.org.
