UVA Community Safety Group recommends more services for youth to address violence

One of the hallmarks of Jim Ryan’s time as head of the University of Virginia is the establishment of the President’s Council on UVA-Community Partnerships. The Council and its working groups have worked on ways to bolster the local economy, improve public health, and augment workforce development. 

A committee convened in early 2023 to address community safety issues has recently published its first report. The Community Safety Group was formed after three UVA football players were shot and killed on the campus. (read the report)

“Equally disturbing is the fact that the rate of violent crime in Charlottesville increased by 30 percent from 2021 to 2022, and in the early months of 2023, Charlottesville police had already investigated five homicide cases; compared to zero cases in 2021,” reads the background section of the report. 

The group’s charge was in part to study the regional network of care providers and recommend improvements to mental and behavioral health. The Community Safety Group met twelve times and received reports from a variety of different people including representatives of the Crisis Intervention Team, the Uhuru Foundation, the UVA Equity Center, Brothers United to Cease the Killing, and the Commonwealth’s Attorneys in both Albemarle and Charlottesville. 

The recommendations follow the framework of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Strategies and Approaches to Prevent Youth Violence. 

Recommendations include:

• Launch programs on firearm safety and “responsible use and care”
• Create a speakers campaign on gun violence mitigation and trauma
• Continue to use the U.S. Justice Department’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” designation for Albemarle and Charlottesville
• Create crisis response teams for the aftermath of violent events 
• Create a crisis response plan to review incidents after the fact 
• Place UVA Health clinicians with pediatric experience to provide services in communities that need them the most
• Increase the number of places for youth in transition to be able to stay
• Increase availability of mental health services in neighborhoods most impacted by violence
• Create and continue funding for a Youth Opportunity Website to provide information on “educational, recreational, and youth-focused mental health” for  young people
• Create a data-sharing system to track incidents of violence and other metrics related to community well-being and how resources are used
• Create a mobile app to help people get connected to services
• Expand community mentorship programs and increase academic support to impacted youth

The recommendations draw upon the other five working groups. Is there anything in there that jumps out at you as a way to help? 

Before you go: The time to write and research of this article is covered by paid subscribers to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In fact, this particular installment comes from the February 2, 2024 edition of the newsletter and podcast. To ensure this research can be sustained, please consider becoming a paid subscriber or contributing monthly through Patreon.