Summer Street Violence Prevention Council
SF Safe Summer 2008

The City’s beststrategy to combat the spike in violence that often occurs during thesummer months is a coordinated approach among City departments, lawenforcement agencies, the courts, and the community. Increasedprevention efforts are essential to minimizing the risk and preventingthis from continuing to repeat itself each year.

In a 2006 executivedirective, the Mayor established the Summer Street Violence PreventionCouncil (SSVPC) to lead the violence prevention efforts. The Mayor’sexecutive directive was intended to enhance enforcement and socialservices in summer "hot spots." The Council, which is comprised ofsenior staff and department heads, meets on a bi-weekly basis tostrategically plan intervention and prevention strategies in “hot spot”areas.

• Beginning inFebruary and continuing through September, the Summer Street ViolencePrevention Council (SSVPC) meets bi-weekly to evaluate and respond tothe City’s six most violence-prone neighborhoods: Bayview-HuntersPoint, Western Addition, Visitacion Valley, Oceanview Merced Ingleside(OMI), Mission and Tenderloin.
  
  

• The Council’s coremembership base is determined by the Mayor’s 2006 executive directive,which mandates participation from the following departments: theMayor’s Office of Policy and Finance (Mayor’s Office), Mayor’s Officeof Criminal Justice (MOCJ), Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services(MONS), Department of Children, Youth and their Families (DCYF), HumanServices Agency (HSA), Department of Public Health (DPH), San FranciscoPolice Department (SFPD), and Adult Probation Department (APD) andJuvenile Probation Department (JPD). Additional representation camefrom the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development (MOEWD),Mayor’s Office of Community Development (MOCD), Board of Supervisors(BOS), Recreation & Park Department (RPD), EntertainmentCommission, District Attorney’s Office, the City Attorney’s Office,Communities of Opportunity (COO), San Francisco Redevelopment Agency(SFRA), and San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA).
  
  

• Last year’s ten year high of homicides serves as a backdrop for San Francisco’s violence prevention efforts.
  
  

There are numerousinnovative and new violence prevention initiatives beginning thissummer. Workforce development is a primary violence prevention andintervention strategy that city departments have incorporated withintheir summer planning. Additionally, other strategies include:

• Stay Alive and Free Campaign
• Community Events and gatherings
• Sports and Recreational Activities
• Safe Passageways – summer school and nighttime entertainment venues
  
  

San Francisco hasadopted the Alive & Free violence prevention model as theoverarching philosophy of its summer violence prevention efforts. 

• The City willlaunch the Alive & Free public education campaign with highlysaturated anti-violence messaging through print, web, television andradio media; coupled with training on the Alive & Free violenceprevention model developed by Dr. Joseph Marshall of Omega BoysClub/Street Soldiers. The Alive & Free violence prevention modelhas been adopted through directive as San Francisco’s overarchingviolence prevention philosophy. City funded service providers, schoolfaculty, law enforcement, and city staff will all be trained in thisphilosophy so that vulnerable youth who come into contact with ourmultiple systems receive a unified message about violence prevention.
  
  

The second charge of SSVPC is to develop a summer resource guide for families.

• The San Francisco Mayor’s Office will develop Stay Alive and Free Safe Summer Guide 2008 -a report on this year’s summer violence prevention strategies. Theresource guide will describe the coordinated efforts of 15 differentcity agencies to keep our communities safe and strong programs. Many ofthese efforts are geared towards youth, at-risk communities, andindividuals exiting the justice system. We have highlighted theopportunities available this summer for employment, recreation,education, and social services. We also describe expanded safetyefforts to reduce violence by our law enforcement agencies.
  
  

The larger Mission of these efforts:

• Recognizing thatsignificant amount of work lies ahead, the core components of the SSVPCwill continue for well beyond just the summer months. The SSVPC is partof the City’s larger effort to combat the increasing rate of violence,addressing the multiple forms of violence that exists and impacts allresidents and communities of San Francisco.