Reducing Violence and Victimization

As a community leader, I am not immune to the hardships that face the people in our community. We are a community plagued with violence and victimization that cannot take a blind eye to the horrendous acts that are going on. We have been given a large sum of money due to a generous donor, and plan to take that money into direct action to help our community. Through two programs, childcare and after school programs, we hope to decrease violence and victimization in our community making it a more enjoyable place for our residents, and the children who grow up here. 

The first program we plan to create is a daycare center for our working residents. In a community plagued with poverty and violence, starting from the ground up is very important, and this begins with our youth. At this day care center, we will offer subsidized payment options that allow each of our clients to afford this opportunity. With a day care, more of our residents can go back to school or focus on an education they previously did not have time for. In a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, childcare in poor communities was observed. This led to a discovery of many positive outcomes, according to the study day cares “show positive effects of high-quality center-based care on children's cognitive growth (Leob, 2)”. With these positive effects on the children and the parents, both parties can benefit from this program. 

A program that exemplifies this day care system is the YMCA. Founded in 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association has been helping millions of community members since it was opened. Originally a place for only men, the YMCA has expanded into a place for families and women in the 1920s. Ever since, they have provided parenting classes and day care facilities for families.  These programs include Child Care, from infants to preschoolers, allowing kids to grow while parents work on their everyday lives. After school programs focus on “safety, health, social growth and academic enhancement” they also focus on extraciruclar activities to help teens explore what it is they enjoy doing (YMCA). This type of after school program is especially helpful for kids in at risk neighborhoods such as our own who could otherwise turn to gangs or dangerous activities. The YMCA also offers Child Watch, which is a drop-in program for parents that are exercising or utilizing the many activities the Y has to offer. This program allows parents to lead a healthy lifestyle while knowing their kids are in a safe environment. 

With our own childcare program, we would begin by purchasing a facility to host the program. This would ideally be in a central part of town, close to public transit. After we established a clean and safe facility, we would hire staff. A full-time staff would be appointed who showed the upmost commitment to our values, which include a dedication and care for our community and its’ children. This would also offer jobs to those in our own community, helping not only the children but the unemployed. Once we have a staff and location, we can hopefully begin to figure out the logistics of our day care such as hours and food options. The food offered at the day care would only be of the healthiest quality, teaching kids at a young age the benefits of healthy eating. We are aware that many of our residents cannot afford and possibly do not know the benefits of healthy eating, so giving the kids an opportunity to see it daily would be invaluable. 

With a day care facility, we hope to achieve a safe and nurturing place. In this approach, we catch youth before they fall to the violence and victimization that plagues our community. As we learned in the lecture about Victimization and Mental Health, neighborhood safety has a direct link to that of violence and victimization (Brown, 16). With the day care we take care of the young that grow up in our community, but further we would like to create an afterschool program for our youth. Similar to that of the YMCA, this afterschool program would create an atmosphere for kids ages 12-18 to explore and grow. They could either do their homework, or participate in activities such as sports or art. 

With working parents, kids often have two to three hours to spare after school lets out. These spare hours could be easily led into gun violence, and gang activity. Risky behavior can be induced by things such as alcohol and drugs, unprotected sex, fighting that can lead to skipping school, or trouble with the law (Brown, 6). Without a place to go, kids will find something to do. In 2010 alone there were 6,570 gun-related deaths (Brown, 23). This number is astonishing and can be largely credited to gun violence in impoverished communities. With an after-school program, kids will no longer have three hours to spend without any supervision. We hope to achieve a place that kids want to go and spend time with their friends in a safe and supervised environment. 

A large appeal of the YMCA in many communities is its sheer popularity, and reputation. Many kids see their friends going to the YMCA and then follow suit and continue to do so for many years with their own kids. With our day care program, we will hopefully establish a fun and safe environment for kids to see, as well as a place they can continue to go to with more and more freedom as the years continue. Although the daycare and after school programs would be separate, a joint location facility could aid in the idea that this center is a home away from home. To make this possible, we will have to hire an age appropriate staff for the after-school facility. This lightly supervised branch of the daycare will give our kids a feeling of freedom along with the safe environment we once provided for them in the daycare. 

Another benefit of doing a daycare and after school facility is peer supervision. A “big brother” type of atmosphere is something that can be beneficial to both parties involved. Whether it includes walking each other home, or helping a younger peer with homework, this type of peer helpfulness will be engrained in our facility. Peer victimization correlates to violence, so a sense of brotherhood and safety is crucial in our program (Brown 8).We hope to use the money to build the facility and generate a great staff, but ultimately the sense of community will be our goal. 

Overall, our goal with the money donated to us is to improve our community. We have problems with violence and victimization that cannot continue if we want our community to be a safe, and growing place. With a childcare and after school facility, we can foster growth and learning in a safe environment right here in our own community. When kids are safe and supervised, this gives our older residents an opportunity to do things for themselves, such as go back to school, or find a job. With each step we take, we become closer to creating a safe community for our children who hopefully become our future residents. 

Works Cited

Brown. “Risks for Violent Victimization and Victim/Offender Overlap”. 

Leob, Susanna, Bruce Fuller, Sharon Kagan, Bidemi Carroll, Judith Carroll, and Jan McCarthy. "Child Care in Poor Communities: Early Learning Effects of Type, Quality, and Stability." National Bureau of Economic Research. Sept. 2003. 

YMCA. "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow... for Good." The Y: History.