Age range

Website: www.youthalive.org

Mission/Goals: To prevent youth violence and generate youth leadership in California communities. To involve youth, especially those who have experienced violence, in developing, implementing, and evaluating agency programs. To educate youth in peer and community leadership and violence prevention/intervention, particularly gun-related. To increase the youth voice and influence in the public policy arena, by providing youth with opportunities to educate themselves and to inform decision makers, community leaders, their peers, and others about options to prevent youth violence, particularly gun related. To gather, present, and distribute statistics and other relevant information which educate youth, decision-makers, public agencies, community based organizations, and the general public, about strategies for prevention. To intervene
in youth violence by working with young people who are "adjudicated" and/or in recovery from violent injuries.

Notes: Youth Alive! has two programs for youth in Oakland: 1.) Teens on Target (TNT) trains young people from violent neighborhoods in Oakland and Los Angeles to present a series of interactive violence prevention workshops to middle and high school students, and to educate policy makers, community members and the media on violence prevention strategies.
2.) Caught in the Crossfire is a youth violence prevention and intervention program that works to stop the cycle of violence. The program provides case management and peer mentoring to young people in Oakland who are involved in (or at high risk for involvement in) violence either as victims or perpetrators. Both programs have received national awards and Caught in the Crossfire has been nationally replicated. Youth ALIVE! is affiliated with the Alameda County Medical Center, a 501(c) (3) organization that also runs the Model Neighborhood Program in three middle schools in Oakland. This program is designed to meet the needs of youth by providing a year round, continuous youth development program with activities that advocate for the health, safety, and well being of youth and contribute to their quality of lives. Activities include health education, health career training, and mentoring.

Source(s): www.youthalive.org

Type of Evaluation: Quasi-Experimental

Note: The following study presents evaluation findings for Youth ALIVE's Caught in the Crossfire program only.

Objective: To assess the influence of a hospital-based peer intervention program serving youth who have been hospitalized for violent injuries on participant involvement in the criminal justice system and violent re-injury and death following hospital discharge.

Impact/Outcomes: Intervention youth were 70% less likely to be arrested for any offense (odds ratio [OR]= 0.257) and 60% less likely to have any criminal involvement
(OR=0.356) when compared to controls. No statistically significant differences were
found for rates of re-injury or death.