Thank you for joining us in saying, "I Stand for Peace." On this page, you can learn more about youth violence in the U.S., several nationally recognized solutions to combat this issue, and how you can help by taking a stand for peace.

We've launched this education and awareness campaign in conjunction with National Youth Violence Prevention Week 2008 and with the airing of the "Stand Up and Be Counted" Public Service Announcement produced by graduate students from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

The Tariq Khamisa Foundation, San Diego, CA

TKF is dedicated to "Stopping Kids from Killing Kids" and breaking the cycle of youth violence by inspiring nonviolent choices and planting seeds of hope for our children's future. Through TKF's school-based nonviolence programs and curriculum, TKF works with elementary, middle, and high school students. TKF teaches them about the realities of gangs, violence, revenge, and the importance of becoming "peacemakers."

Assessments of TKF's Violence Impact Forum (VIF), measured by pre-, post- and 45-day post-VIF questionnaires, demonstrate that the VIF causes significant changes in students' beliefs and attitudes toward revenge, violence, gangs and guns. For example, middle school students deemed "high risk" were asked whether or not they agreed the statement "I think being in a gang makes it more likely that you will get hurt or killed" was true for them. Prior to the VIF, 8% agreed it was. Forty-five days following the program, that number had increased to 87%.[6]

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Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict, Columbus, OH

Established by the Ohio legislature in 1989, the Commission provides dispute resolution and conflict management resources, training, and direct services to Ohio schools, communities, courts, and state and local government.

The Commission has ample evidence of the efficacy of the programs it identifies and makes available. For example, in the 2002-2003 school year, all schools implementing just one program the Commission sponsored--the SOAR program--showed marked reduction in time dealing with discipline, truancy, tardiness, suspensions and expulsions, and increases in attendance and, not surprisingly, academic performance. At a cost of a mere $12 per student, the program resulted in system-wide savings of more than $300,000--in just one school year.[7]

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Attitudinal Healing Connection Oakland, CA

The Attitudinal Healing Connection (AHC) works to eliminate violence and fear by creating spiritual and educational programs that incorporate art, health and diversity/social justice in order build peaceful and loving communities. Through their ArtEsteem programs, AHC engages students and supports their positive development-–body, mind, and heart-–helping young people stay interested in school by creating individual and collective educational excellence across academic subjects.

AHC strives in particular to provide art classes in schools that cannot afford them, helping remedy the effects of socioeconomic conditions that can block academic and personal achievement. Participants discover how to self-reflect and dream, as well as focus on tasks and "follow through." Classes also build students' language and math literacy, aesthetic appreciation, and listening and performance skills. Students learn conceptual understandings of social, historical, and cultural topics to engage and inform their minds, and develop the whole child, in expansive ways.

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Community Conferencing Center, Baltimore, MD

The Community Conferencing Center works to support communities and individuals in realizing they can safely and effectively resolve conflicts themselves. It is the first and only multi-sector program being conducted in a large American inner city, and works with issues related to youth and adult conflict and crime. Through the use of community conferences, the Center brings together the people affected by behavior that has caused serious harm. It provides a forum in which those who have caused harm, those who have been harmed, and their respective supporters can find ways to repair the damage caused and minimize further harm.

Use of community conferencing has resulted in a 60% reduction in recidivism in young offenders compared to similar juvenile justice cases in the traditional juvenile justice system.[8]

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Challenge Day, Concord, CA

Challenge Day provides youth and their communities with experiential workshops and programs that demonstrate the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth and full expression. Challenge Day has been featured on the Oprah show and in the documentary, Teen Files: Surviving High School.

Individual schools using the Challenge Day programs have reported a variety of powerful results, including:[9]

• A reduction in disciplinary incidents ranging from 24% to 67%
• A 16% reduction in suspensions, from 701 in 2000 to 587 in 2002
• A 78% decrease in students reporting feeling unsafe at school
• 17% of participants reported experiencing less teasing, bullying and fewer students being picked on
• 50% of participants reported an increase in sense of connection, openness, friendliness and knowing people
• 100% of participants felt there was an adult at school who would listen to them

With resources like this available, why does youth violence continue to be such a problem? Because current policy-making tends toward reactive rather than proactive approaches to reducing violence, leaving these programs and many like them woefully underutilized and under-funded.

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You Can Help

Sign the Petition.  Congress is a reactive body. We must come together to make our voices heard and tell our representatives in Washington that violence reduction and prevention must be a top priority. Sign the petition and let Congress know that you stand for peace. Ask your friends to sign the petition as well.

Download: We would really prefer that you "sign" the petition on-line, but if you need a hard copy to take to an event where a computer isn't available, you can download a PDF version by clicking here.  Mail completed forms to:  
 

The Peace Alliance 
1730 Rhode Island Ave NW, Suite 712 
Washington, DC 20036

1. Join the Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace. Help us create the systems and structures we need to resolve conflict before it erupts into violence.
   
2. Sign up for our national email list.
   
3. Help raise awareness of effective prevention programs locally and nationally (see our links to more resources below)
   
4. Get active for National Youth Violence Prevention Week this year and always. During this week-long national education initiative, various activities will demonstrate the positive role young people can have in making their schools and communities safer. Each day of the week focuses on a specific violence prevention strategy, including promoting respect and tolerance, anger management, resolving conflicts peacefully, supporting safety, and uniting in action.
   

3) Stand for Peace for the Future

1. Donate to The Peace Alliance to help keep this vital education and lobbying work going .
   
2. Donate to effective programs in your area. See the links below to learn more about what's happening in your area.

You Can Help End the Cycle of Violence

Here are links to additional resources about the issue of violence and some possible solutions. You can also read more throughout our website.

• Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Resources on Youth Violence
  
• This "at-a-glance" fact sheet provides a snapshot of statistics on youth violence
• Learn more about what the CDC is doing to help prevent youth violence in their  Preventing Youth Violence Program Activity Guide , a list of CDC research activities and partnerships.
• You'll find these resources and more on the CDC's youth violence web page.
  
  
  
• Statistics on Violence
  
  This  quick reference sheet highlights some facts about violence that most of us don't know. Take a look and a see the magnitude of this largely preventable issue.
  
  
  
• Statistics on Violence against Women
  
  A focused sample of  statistics addressing violence against women, compiled as part of our Valentine's Day action.
  
  
  
• Hope on the Horizon: Making Cents of Peacebuilding
  
  This White Paper created by the former Peace Alliance Foundation highlights a tiny sample of effective programs and shows how preventing violence is economically smart.

• The Business of Peace
  
  Originally presented at the Student Peace Alliance National Conference in October 2007, this Powerpoint presentation shows how integrating peaceful practices and principles in good business.
  
  
  
• Programs that Work
  
  Here are two sources for finding programs near you so you can help raise awareness of the value of prevention. Check out either of these to learn more about what's in your area and how you can help.
  
  
  
  1. The Peace Registry
     
     Peace Partnership International, a partner organization to The Peace Alliance, maintains a Peace Registry of programs throughout the U.S. and the world that are effectively reducing and preventing violence. You can recommend new programs for inclusion and search for programs in your area.
     
     
     
  2. WiserEarth
     
     WiserEarth is a community directory and networking forum that maps and connects non-governmental organizations and individuals addressing the central issues of our day: climate change, poverty, the environment, peace, water, hunger, social justice, conservation, human rights and more. You’ll probably want to search their organizations by city to find what's happening in yours.

This is Just the Beginning

In the past 30 years, there has been tremendous expansion in the science, study and practice of what can be generally called "peacebuilding." More than 300 colleges and universities give degrees in Peacebuilding and Peace Studies. The current spectrum of our peacebuilding expertise includes leading edge technologies in the fields of conflict resolution, peer mediation, post-conflict reconstruction and many other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). Countless programs across the nation have been proven to effectively reduce and prevent bullying, school violence, recidivism, domestic violence, dependency on social services, crime, and more--and they have done so while saving taxpayer dollars.

Regrettably, current policy-making tends toward reactive, not proactive, approaches to reducing violence. We typically wait until violence has occurred and then ask our already over-taxed police and military to address these symptoms of violence through activities such as imprisonment of offenders and engagement in armed conflict. While such suppression of symptoms is vital, it is incomplete and must be augmented by stronger preventative measures, with a specific focus on the identification and treatment of root causes.

Remember that you are the key to expanding our individual and collective ability to resolve conflict before it erupts into violence. Thank you for getting informed, taking action, and staying committed. Together, we can reduce and prevent violence, and create a more peaceful world for generations to come.

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