New Orleans, Louisiana is an ideal setting for exploring new approaches to youth violence interventions for a number of reasons. The city-level YRBSS results for 2005 indicate that New Orleans youth exceed the rest of the U.S. youth population in rates of carrying guns (9.0% vs. 5.4%), being threatened or injured by a weapon at school (15% vs. 8%), participating in a physical fight (46% vs. 36%), and being involved with dating violence (21% vs. 9%). In 2005, the youth of New Orleans were exposed to one of the largest national disasters in U.S. history, which provides the unique opportunity to study youth violence in the context of a natural disaster. While the NIH project will focus on Violence prevention in grade Pre-K through 3rd grade and assets management and/or peer mentoring in 4th through 9th grades, the “Place Matters” Violence Project will focus on: Assets Management, community mobilization, policy intervention and quality education among students in grade 10th through 12th.
Team Lead: Dr. Andre Perry
Email: aperry@loyno.edu
Phone: (504) 865.2782
Team Web site: www.orleansplacematters.org