Three-Cities Nonviolence Program Launched; Job and Resource Fair Held for High School Students

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – As graduation day draws close, Central Falls High School seniors today participated in an employment and resource fair hosted by the Nonviolence Institute, Family Service of Rhode Island, and the United States Attorney’s Office as part of the Institute’s Three-Cities Nonviolence Program. Dozens of agencies and employers made resource information available and met one-on-one with students to discuss career opportunities, training programs, and social service and community support programs.

The Three-Cities Nonviolence Program, supported by a $318,199 grant awarded by the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile and Delinquency Prevention, targets youth victims and families of gang-related violence in Central Falls, Pawtucket, and Providence by providing direct support services to prevent re-victimization. The program effectively identifies victims of gang violence and gang-related crime, and uses data driven, evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to provide an appropriate response, to include Nonviolence Streetworker Outreach, Social Worker-Police Go-Teams, and Hospital-based violence intervention.

Nonviolence Institute Executive Director Cedric Huntley commented, "The Nonviolence Institute is very pleased to work with the United States Attorney’s Office and other organizations in organizing and collaborating to provide youth with a summer opportunities fair in the City of Central Falls.  It is this kind of collaboration that addresses issues in providing meaningful outcomes in Central Falls."

Today’s employment and resource fair is a great opportunity to offer these high-school seniors career information and to introduce the Three-Cities Nonviolence Program to the community,” said Acting United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus.  “The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to reducing urban violent crime and creating safer communities in Rhode Island through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative. A cornerstone of violence reduction is the work of community organizations that focus on outreach and furnish resources to young adults. We are proud to provide our support to the Nonviolence Institute’s Three-Cities Nonviolence Program, a comprehensive prevention program to help break the cycle of youth gang violence in Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls.”

Key partners of the Nonviolence Institute’s Three-Cities Nonviolence Program include Family Service of Rhode Island, the Central Falls, Pawtucket, and Providence Police and School Departments, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office, and Rhode Island Hospital.

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