VCU news

By Mary Beth Alford

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Commonwealth University has received a $1.2 million grant to establish a community-based center aimed at preventing the deadly problem of youth violence. VCU is among 10 American colleges and universities to receive three-year awards from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The Center for Prevention of Youth Violence, to be located on the MCV campus, will support the community in developing strategies to reduce and even stop violence from occurring, with a particular focus on issues stemming from the urban environment. Drawing on the university�s research, teaching and clinical strengths, the center will involve VCU Schools of Education, Social Work and Medicine, as well as the Psychology and Criminal Justice departments. The center will work closely with other community organizations and other state agencies including the health department.

"Youth violence is a growing problem in America and is one of the top five causes of death among young people," said Margaret A. Dolan, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine program at VCU. The most recent Richmond Police Department records available reflect that in 1998, there were 32 violent deaths among people up to age 24.

"We envision the center functioning as a resource for the university and the community for supporting research, program implementation and evaluation for youth violence prevention efforts on a local level. Although there are many quality youth-violence prevention efforts in Richmond, there is little coordination among them. This grant will bring these programs together so all will benefit," Dolan said, who will direct the center.

Richmond Mayor Tim Kaine and Commonwealth�s Attorney David Hicks wrote letters in support of the community-driven center. Dolan believes that their support had a large impact on the CDC decision, because the city and VCU have worked together to both prevent and reduce violence.

"The competition for the funding was intense, but we had a strong application due to our extensive community support. The CDC realizes through this center, our community as a whole will work with the university to prevent youth violence," Dolan said.

A panel of nationally recognized experts in fields related to youth violence selected VCU from among 48 applicants. "This innovative combination of academic excellence and community support offers our nation a unique opportunity to train tomorrow�s community leaders to intervene to prevent the further growth of violence among our nation�s young people," said Rodney Hammond, Ph.D., director of the Division for Youth Violence Prevention at the CDC�s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Along with four other universities including the University of California-San Diego and the University of Michigan, VCU was named a developing center. Those sites must also apply their findings on youth-violence prevention to their urban settings.