The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #74480

Anna Caballero, Mayor of Salinas,CA and Executive Director, Partners for Peace, 200 Lincoln Ave, Salinas, CA 93901, 831.751.7762, c4peace@pacbell.net

This presentation will describe how the city of Salinas has worked together to prevent youth violence, with a focus on Cultivating Peace in Salinas: A Framework for Violence Prevention. Created through a collaboration by the City of Salinas, the Violent Injury Prevention Coalition and their foundation Partners for Peace, and with contracted assistance from the Prevention Institute, Cultivating Peace is a strategically developed plan with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes for children, youth and families.

The implementation of Cultivating Peace is an on-going process, and current efforts will be highlighted. The strategic planning process which resulted in Cultivating Peace succeeded in attracting funding for two major implementation efforts: Safe Schools/Healthy Students (US Department of Education) and Partners for Peace (the David and Lucile Packard Foundation). This presentation provides updates on Salinas youth violence prevention strategies, including recent partnerships, service coordination, and policy development efforts. It will also describe YES (Youth Employment Services), a youth employment opportunity/gang prevention initiative designed for high school students. The Cultivating Peace framework continues to be used as a basis for program implementation in Salinas, and has become the criteria by which new city projects are judged.

Discussion will also focus on the Spectrum of Prevention, a multifaceted framework that was the key tool utilized in the development of Cultivating Peace. In Salinas, the tool was used by the Core Group (20 individuals representing diverse sectors of Salinas) to review existing efforts, and to plan further initiatives within the City of Salinas.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the process through which Salinas brought its community together.
• Understand how to translate the Salinas findings to other communities.
• Understand how the Spectrum helps partners think through their specific roles and responsibilities.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.