Murder Is No Accident: Understanding and Preventing Youth Violence in America - Hardcover

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Deborah Prothrow-Stith, M.D., is associate dean for faculty development and professor of public health practice at the Harvard School of Public Health. As a physician working in inner-city hospitals and neighborhood clinics, she recognized violence as a significant public health issue. In 1987 she established the first office of violence prevention in a state department of public health while serving as commissioner for the Department of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Howard R. Spivak, M.D., is chief of the division of general pediatrics and adolescent medicine and vice president for community health programs at New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He is professor of pediatrics and community health at Tufts University School of Medicine and director of the Tufts University Center for Children. He cofounded the Boston Violence Prevention Program and is nationally recognized for his work in pediatrics and violence prevention.

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A Prescription for Stopping Youth Violence Before It Starts

"A clear, compelling, and much-needed examination of what causes youth violence in small towns and big cities all over America, and how one community was able to bring many partners and pieces of a complex puzzle together to curb youth violence in its neighborhoods. This book is an important reminder that youth violence is preventable. It should be read by every elected official, public health professional, community leader, advocate, and parent ready to move beyond despair or fear and take action."
Marian Wright Edelman, president, Children s Defense Fund

"Essential reading for public officials, concerned parents, and citizens."
Senator Edward M. Kennedy

"An eye-opening and well-documented book by two of the foremost pioneers in violence prevention efforts in America. Through their own personal stories and an astute analysis of the complexities of violence prevention initiatives, the authors argue that violence is learned behavior that can be significantly reduced. This is an inspiring book; I highly recommend it."
Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School and Judge Baker Children s Center, Boston, Massachusetts

Aus dem Klappentext

There are solutions to teen homicide and violence. Murder Is No Accident shows how one city broke its cycle of killing, proving that youth violence is not inevitable. During the early 1990s in Boston, youth violence and criminal activity were at epidemic proportions, and nearly one juvenile homicide occurred every month. Remarkably, by the end of the decade, there were no juvenile homicides, and the overall juvenile crime and violence rates had dramatically declined.

Authors Deborah Prothrow-Stith and Howard R. Spivak two prominent Boston-area public health officials who played leading roles in that city s turnaround show that the key to Boston s success was creating an interdisciplinary citywide movement. The city s movement made up of educators, community leaders, police officers, emergency room workers, activist teens, teen and family member survivors of violence, and many others worked for more than ten years to implement multifaceted preventive programs that confronted each risk factor for youth violence, including

• Positive Role Models: Peer mentoring and teacher-training programs
• Healthy and Safe Communities: Youth centers, after-school programs, and other organized recreational activities
• Poverty: Economic stimulus policies to help reduce poverty in inner-city and rural areas
• Pro-Social Behaviors: Conflict resolution and violence prevention curricula in schools
• Domestic Violence: Home visitation programs and screening to protect kids from domestic violence
• Gun Buybacks: Reduction in the number of firearms on the streets

Boston became the nation s premier success story for youth violence prevention. Your city can do it too. In this vital resource, Drs. Deborah Prothrow-Stith and Howard R. Spivak combine their impassioned message for violence prevention with a wealth of research, personal stories, and information, giving the nation s leaders and concerned citizens a powerful tool for preventing youth violence in their own neighborhoods and surrounding communities.