Planning the Implementation of the New York City Crisis Management System

The implementation effort in Staten Island began one year later than in the other four boroughs of New York City. Central Family Life Center (CFLC) is serving as the host agency for the Cure Violence program. The CFLC opened in 1991 to pursue its mission of improving the social, economic, and environmental lives of Staten Island residents, particularly those in the North Shore communities. CFLC’s programming focuses on education, justice and law, advocacy, prison support, senior services, and coalition building.

Central Family Life Center is located within NYPD’s 120th precinct. In 2013 the agency obtained funding from the New York City Council to begin planning the implementation of the Cure Violence program and the crisis management system. Staff worked to strengthen relationships with other community-based organizations and key stakeholders. They also began to increase the internal capacity of CFLC, to organize a youth forum, and to identify shooting hot spots in the 120th precinct.

The Cure Violence model relies upon community resources and CFLC is beginning to develop meaningful avenues of collaboration with community-based agencies, including the New York Center for Interpersonal Development (NYCID), 49 Strong, Staten Island Mental Health, Richmond County medical center, and Staten Island Youth Justice Center.

The staff of the program organized a Youth Summit held at Curtis High School in the summer of 2013. The Summit included workshops on positive vs. negative imagery, gender expectations, self-esteem, and misogyny. The event introduced community residents to the Cure Violence program and helped the staff build rapport with the local high school, which is where many youth conflicts originate.

Central Family Life Center continues to work on building the capacity to launch the Cure Violence program. The director of CFLC visited the Cure Violence National office and received training in the strategy and methods of Cure Violence. The CFLC staff is eager to implement the full Cure Violence model because the community of Staten Island needs a fresh approach to preventing and reducing addressing violence.