The Blueprint launched with over 150 community members on November 1, 2016
The goal of the planning process was to develop a community-driven action plan to reduce incidence of interpersonal and structural violence through the development, implementation, evaluation, and sustainability of strategies that promote community safety and resilience. The planning process resulted in a vision for violence prevention and community safety for Milwaukee--an action plan that draws on community assets and best practices. The process was funded by the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Endowment at the Medical College of Wisconsin, with partial funding from the Tides Foundation, and ReCAST Milwaukee.
Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. - Alan Lakein
Violence prevention planning process launched with 150 community partners at Discovery World on November 1, 2016
In addition to meeting and engaging with the Prevention Institute team, community members identified the leading risk and resilience factors related to violence in Milwaukee. Throughout the process, ongoing input was sought from youth and other stakeholders through community conversations, roundtable discussions and surveys.
The first Steering Committee meeting was held at Bader Philanthropies in November 2016. This meeting focused on drafting the vision and principles of the Blueprint and reviewing community feedback related to expectations for the planning process and its outcome.
Youth were engaged in the planning effort from the very beginning. In addition to our first youth fourm at Running Rebels, over 1,000 youth in schools, detention facilities, group homes, and youth serving agencies provided input regarding violence prevention in Milwaukee. Youth were involved through every stage of the planning process including on the Steering Committee.
The second Steering Committee meeting was held at the Sojourner Family Peace Center in January 2017. This meeting focused on refining the principles of the Blueprint affirming the goals of the plan and aligning across other plans/initiatives including MBK Milwaukee, Beyond the Bell, The Common Council Public Safety Plan, Milwaukee Succeeds, Promise Zones, Milwaukee United and others.
This meeting was held at UWM Zilber School of Public Health and focused on revising the vision of the Blueprint and its focus on violence prevention in general with specific priorities for youth and geographic neighborhoods with high concentrations of structural and interpersonal violence.
The Steering Committee also hosted a presentation by Arnold Chandler from Forward Change Consulting based in Oakland California. Arnold shared a Lifecourse Framework for advancing outcomes for violence prevention.
As a part of the planning process the Office of Violence Prevention conducted site visits with relevant violence prevention programs around the country including efforts in Baltimore, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Oakland. We also received support from Cities United, Healing Justice Alliance, Cure Violence, UNITY Network, and the Annie E Casey Foundation.
SAFE MKE Forum
On January 12, 2017, over 100 community members representing business, faith, nonprofit, public health, and grassroots programs participated in the Safe MKE forum. The event was sponsored by the Greater Milwaukee Committee, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Precious Lives, the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) and the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County.
Keynote speaker Dr. Howard Pinderhughes from Prevention Institute discussed a public health approach to violence prevention that considers the impact of community trauma, and the importance of focusing on strategies to address the underlying contributors to violence.
The event featured two panels that explored national strategies and opportunities to align local efforts in Milwaukee. National panelists included Marcus McAllister from Cure Violence, Freddy Barton from Safe & Sound Hillsborough and Amoretta Morris from The Annie E. Casey Foundation. Local panelists included Hector Colon from Milwaukee County Health & Human Services, Dr. Michael Levas from Project Ujima and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Carmen Pitre from Sojourner Family Peace Center, and Donsia Strong Hill from LISC.
Photo Credit: www.milwaukeeindependent.com
The 5th Steering Committee meeting focused on finalizing the design, layout, and launch strategy for the Blueprint for Peace
BLUEPRINT FOR PEACE LAUNCH
The Blueprint for Peace was released November 2017 exactly one year from the launch of the planning process. The release was hosted at Sojourner Family Peace Center.
The Office of Violence Prevention is joining community partners to host a series of Blueprint briefings in priority neighborhoods.
The 6 goals and 30 strategies contained in the Blueprint reflect Milwaukee's collective vision for building a safer and stronger city. Its success is our success. Its failure is our failure. From grassroots programs to large institutions it is up to each individual, group, or agency to identify how their work aligns with the Blueprint and how the Blueprint aligns with their work.
Adoption
The Blueprint for Peace has been endorsed by a variety of individuals, groups and organizations. The City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Medical College of Wisconsin, United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, among many others have endorsed a public health approach to violence prevention in Milwaukee. To officially endorse the Blueprint visit www.414LIFE.com
To view the Blueprint online please click below.
Credits:
The Office of Violence Prevention is housed in the City of Milwaukee Health Department. Photos used for the Safe MKE event were taken by: Milwaukee Independent (www.milwaukeeindepent.com) News Clip by CBS 58