History
Our Coalition
To be clear this is not the history of youth violence prevention or youth resiliency in Denver. We are a coalition that is made up of many organizations each of which has a rich history that informs their work. Rather, we are going to talk about how this specific group of people comes to be here today, and what that means in terms of the assets and opportunities we collectively possess.
2014
Denver has pursued youth violence prevention work for decades, but the current effort began to first take shape in 2014, when Denver heeded the call of former President Obama and kicked off the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) initiative to enhance opportunities for boys and young men of color across the city. While it began as a seed of an idea, and part of the MBK Denver initiative, youth violence prevention work gained additional momentum in September 2019 when Denver Public Health issued the report How Gun Violence Affects Youth in Denver.
2019
By late November 2019, then Mayor Michael B. Hancock had formed the Youth Violence Prevention Action Table (YVPAT), challenging city departments, the courts, state and federal agencies, Denver Public Schools (DPS), Denver Public Health (DPH), higher education and various community partners to come together to support youth and their families. The goal of YVPAT was to understand what programs the city offers that can help address youth violence, raise awareness of these programs and identify any gaps where the city can increase support. In addition, it was tasked with developing a public health approach to youth violence prevention that crosses over city agencies and leverages external stakeholders, youth voice and community partnerships in a set of strategies, which are outlined in this report.
Evolving Vision
Since then, the City and County of Denver has implemented a public health approach to youth violence through a large, multi-sector coalition. Taking a public health approach, aligns with the groups two core values. The first is that by tracking trends and understanding the issue, collectively, we can make an impact. The second is that the issue of youth violence has root causes that far precede an incident; rather, it is the nature and structure of communities, the assets and barriers youth experience, and the normalization of violence that also need to be addressed if we are to make a meaningful impact.
2023
In 2023, the YVPAT presented the 2023 Youth Violence Prevention Plan, which outlines the road map to the action table’s public health approach to specific strategies the coalition has taken to address youth violence prevention in Denver. Shortly thereafter, Denver Public Schools issued its Long-Term Safety Plan articulating how the district is an integrated part of the work and the ways in which youth violence prevention is aligned with the Denver Public Schools Strategic Roadmap. In parallel our community has developed its own set of recommendations, Reimagining Policing and Public Safety, also in alignment with the collective work.
2024
Recognizing that youth violence prevention and the promotion of youth resilience should be community led, Denver Public Schools and the City and County of Denver shifted leadership and facilitation of coalition convenings over to community members. Today’s events are planned and executed by Denver’s community, with full participation and support from the city and the school district.
