Boston should hire and train more street workers to mentor and monitor youths before tensions turn into bloodshed, says a City Council youth violence committee report quoted by the Boston Globe. “The street workers program is one of the best things we have going on in the city, and we have to invest in it,” saiid Michael Ross, chairman of the council’s Special Committee on Youth Violent Crime Prevention. “There’s not a lot of places where you can invest less than a million dollars and see a big difference, but this is one.”
The report calls for the city to ensure there are enough summer jobs for youths and suggests a peace curriculum in its schools, extending community center hours, engaging youths in dialogue, and improving relationships between police and residents to increase the crime clearance rate.
Link: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/12/21/violence_panel_urges_more_street_workers/