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YOUTH ARMED VIOLENCE INTERVENTIONS: the Caribbean and Its Toronto Diaspora

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YOUTH ARMED VIOLENCE INTERVENTIONS: the Caribbean and Its Toronto Diaspora YOUTH ARMED VIOLENCE INTERVENTIONS: The Caribbean and its Toronto Diaspora Sandra Chadwick-Parkes, PhD Project Ploughshares 57 Erb Street West Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2L 6C2 Tel: (519) 888-6541 Website: http//www.ploughshares.ca About this Paper This paper was prepared for the Small Arms Working Group of Peacebuild. Project Ploughshares was the Coordinator of the Small Arms Working Group from 2004 through to 2010. The paper is part of a series that explored the relationship between armed violence and development. Peacebuild Peacebuild, the Canadian Peacebuilding Network, is a member-based network of Canadian non-governmental organizations and institutions, academics and individuals engaged in a wide range of activities related to addressing the cause and consequences of violent conflict, Peacebuild 207-145 Spruce Street Ottawa, Ontario, KIR 6P1, Canada Tel: (613) 232-0647 www.peacebuild.ca Project Ploughshares Project Ploughshares is a non-governmental organization that works with churches, nongovernmental organizations, and governments, in Canada and abroad, to advance policies and actions that prevents war and armed violence and build peace. Project Ploughshares 57 Erb Street West Waterloo, Ontario N2L 6C2 Canada 519-888-6541 Fax: 519-888-0018 [email protected] www.ploughshares.ca Acknowledgment This research was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Disclaimer Peacebuild and Project Ploughshares Working Papers are published to contribute to public discussion and debate of peace and security issues. The views and policies presented in this paper are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the policies of Peacebuild, Project Ploughshares and its sponsoring churches and agencies, or the Canadian International Development Agency. TABLE OF CONTENTS i ACRONYMS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1 EXECUTIVE sUMMARY 5 1: iNTRODUCTION 8 1.1 Organization of the Paper 8 2: mETHODOLOGY 8 2.1 Case Study Selection Criteria 9 3: BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM: tHE cARIBBEAN AND tORONTO 11 4: tHE rEASONS BEHIND yOUTH ARMED vIOLENCE 13 5: AppROACHES TO yOUTH ARMED vIOLENCE 13 5.1 The Armed Violence Reduction (AVR) Approach 14 5.2 The Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention 15 5.3 The Ecological Approach 15 5.4 The Epidemiological Approach 16 5.5 The Integrated Framework Approach 17 5.6 The Comprehensive Community Gang Program Approach 18 5.7 Community Policing 18 5.8 Features of Successful Community Interventions 19 6: cOMMUNITY AppROACHES TO yOUTH ARMED vIOLENCE: tHE cASE sTUDIES 19 6.1 Breaking the Cycle (BTC): Youth Gang Exit Program and Ambassador Leadership Project 19 6.1.1 Background 24 6.1.2 BTC Program Design 25 6.1.3 Phase I: Assessment and Intake: The Leadership and Support Project 25 6.1.4 Intensive Training and Personal Development 26 6.1.5 The Case Management Process and Follow-Up Phase 27 6.1.6 Phase II: Selecting and Developing Leaders; Youth Ambassador Leadership and Employment Preparation Project 29 6.1.7 The Role of Women in Gangs and Violence 30 6.1.8 BTC Program Means 31 6.1.9 BTC Project Outcome 33 6.1.10 Summary 34 6.2. The Peace Management Initiative (PMI) Jamaica 34 6.2.1 Background 35 6.2.2 PMI Program Design 39 6.2.3 The Role of Women in Gangs and Violence 39 6.2.4 PMI Project Means 41 6.2.5 PMI Project Outcomes 42 7. cONCLUSION 44 7.1 Lessons Learned 47 BIBLIOGRAPHY Figures 9 Figure 1: Homicide by Region (per 100,000 Inhabitants), 2004 10 Figure 2: Toronto Shooting Injury Levels (2006-2009) 14 Figure 3: The Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention 15 Figure 4: The Ecological Approach to Understanding Crime and Violence 16 Figure 5: The Integrated Model of Violence Causality 21 Figure 6: Birth Origins of BTC Participants (2008-2010) 24 Figure 7: Components of BTC’s Gang Exit Strategy 32 Figure 8: BTC Space and Action Continuum Points System Tables 20 Table 1: Arrest Record of BTC Youth 22 Table 2: Age Demographics of BTC participants: August 2007–December 2009 32 Table 3: Results of the 9-week Follow-Up of Youth from the January 2009 BTC Program ACRONYMS AVD Armed Violence and Development AVR Armed Violence Reduction and Prevention AYF Area Youth Foundation BDC The Black Daddy’s Club BTC Breaking the Cycle Program CAEP Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians CBT Cognitive Behavioural Therapy CTI Canadian Training Institute GTA Greater Toronto and Area HEART NTA Heart Trust, The National Training Agency (Jamaica) HRSDC Human Resources and Social Development Canada NGO Nongovernmental Organizations OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OSSD Ontario Secondary School Diploma PMI The Peace Management Initiative SDC Social Development Commission UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime WIGS Wildly Important Goal Setting WOLA Washington Office on Latin America ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research would not have been possible without the time and contribution of staff and participants of Project Ploughshares and the programs presented in this study. I would like to express my gratitude, first and foremost to Maribel Gonzales, program officer at Project Ploughshares, who shared considerable literature, research reports and other material on youth armed violence across the globe, and also provided input into this study. My gratitude goes to John Sawdon of the Canadian Training Institute, founder of the Breaking the Cycle program. I would also like to express my thanks to BTC project coordinator Gary Newman and program facilitators Shaka Licorish and Jumoke Famutimi, who detailed processes and supplied data. I am also grateful to the program participants who shared their experiences. For the Caribbean component of the research, Mr. Horace Levy, board member and mediator of The Peace Management Initiative (PMI) in Kingston, patiently endured a long telephone interview. His invaluable input helped me to understand PMI’s process and practice, and verify other research on the topic. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With 66 per cent of all homicides occurring in countries not experiencing major violent conflict, armed violence is now a global social problem. Even more alarming is that much of this violence is perpetrated by young people, who are also over-represented among the victims. Youth armed violence is now a grave concern at every level of society and initiatives to deal with this issue have been increasing. More recently, steps have been undertaken to map those initiatives, especially at the community level, and document and disseminate good practice in addressing the problem. In furtherance of the goal of the Small Arms Working Group and Project Ploughshares to reduce violence and build peace, this study presents case studies of two specific programs that are enjoying some measure of success: The Peace Management Initiative (PMI) in Kingston, Jamaica and the Breaking the Cycle (BTC) Project in Toronto. Both programs were selected because of their success with gang-associated, violent youth in Jamaica’s inner city and in Toronto’s Caribbean diaspora communities respectively. Both are linked by the study’s Caribbean youth focus. The link goes even deeper: the perception is that much of the violence in Toronto is perpetrated by youth of Caribbean, particularly Jamaican, heritage. The research highlights several models for addressing youth armed violence. While both programs adopt variations of these approaches, the Armed Violence Reduction and Development (AVR) approach, which aims at reducing the risks and impacts of armed violence, is particularly relevant. PMI intervenes first to quell violence and then offers livelihood opportunities to address poverty. Also acknowledging the direct link between low socio-economic status and violence, BTC offers the opportunity to exit gangs and lead more productive lives through education and by building leadership skills. Both programs also address the psychological issues typical of violence, such as anger management, conflict resolution and the need for life-coping skills. However, because of the complex and interrelated causes of such violence, the models associated with youth armed violence agree on the need for mult-isector, multi-level interventions. The two programs offer some common lessons. The first involves the utilization of former gang- and gun-associated persons in violence reduction programs. Though far more difficult to implement in Jamaican society than Canadian, this strategy is acknowledged to enhance program effectiveness, both in gang member rehabilitation and outreach to those on the brink of violent action. Both studies reveal a positive impact on violence reduction when youth are exposed to areas outside their community domain and to new learning experiences. These experiences serve to “open their eyes” to what exists outside their world and expose them to new growth possibilities. It must be understood that most gang-involved youth are exposed to violence from birth and, hence, view violence as a norm until they learn otherwise. Such an insight highlights the need for agencies involved in violence reduction to provide long-term growth Youth Violence opportunities and educational, cultural, sporting and personal development to replace negative experiences. One cannot stop the support as soon as a gang-involved youth graduates from a program or community violence is quelled. Both programs demonstrate that ‘at-risk’ is equally applicable to gang entry and recidivism. If there are no available opportunities to grow or earn money after leaving a gang or when violence stops, it is easy to fall back into old habits. The Armed Violence and Development approach speaks to this need as it acknowledges the complex links between violence and development. Neither program has a partnership with law enforcement officials, despite the importance the literature attributes to police presence in youth programs. BTC’s efforts to seek out such partnerships have met with the derision of Toronto police officers. Because inner-city Kingston residents strongly distrust their local officers, PMI deliberately distances itself from the police.
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