Project Summary: Updated February 2, 2014
The following is a summary highlighting Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth activities prepared by Barb Biondo, Project Coordinator.
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This update comes as the Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth (ABSPY) initiative prepares to launch interventions to reduce crime that affects youth at five hotspots in Rainier Beach. Click this link for a summary of all the ABSPY non-arrest interventions aimed at place-based risk factors that impact youth crime.
A lot’s happened since the last posting. Over the summer of 2014 we “activated” places where crime occurs to make them safer. The Corner Greeter events were designed by the community at the May 2014 Gathering as a creative way to bring people together to foster interactions that build community. With the support of Seattle Neighborhood Group, Corner Greeter events were held at each hotspot over the summer. We developed a following of community volunteers who enjoyed connecting with their neighbors, helping turn hot spots into fun spots! We also directed intentional activity to the Rainier & Henderson “Plaza” thanks the support of Mayor’s Summer of Safety Initiative, Seattle Parks and the Seattle Youth Employment Program. Events held over the summer were designed and staffed by youth and involved art, music, and even a little friendly competition between local drill teams. In the fall of 2014 the ABSPY Community Task Force (CTF) met twice: once to review the most recent Seattle Police incident (victimization and offending) data, and once to review Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Assessments of each of the hotspot areas. The CTF also reviewed and commented on a draft intervention plan. To find out how you can help to make A-Safe-Place-for-Youth happen, please contact Barb Biondo at barb@sngi.org or 206-322-6134. You can also sign up to receive email notices on ABSPY intervention acitivity and Community Task Force meetings. 
Yoga on the Plaza, summer 2014
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Hula-Greeters at Saars Market Place summer of 2014
Corner Greeters at Rainier Beach Light Rail Station, summer 2014
Team-building at CTF Workshop #6, October 2014
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Project Summary (Updated June 2014)
From
"Breaking the Pane" workshops
Creative data gathering: In April 2014, Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth partnered with United Story in a creative community engagement activity called “Breaking the Pane”. For one week in April Safe Place for Youth and United Story volunteers staffed 10 outdoor workshops (2 at each of the five hotspots) and interacted with over 120 community members, many youth and young adults, to share stories about their perceptions of identity, community and youth violence through dialogue and drawing. The qualitative data gathered will be used by the Community Task Force (CTF) to inform Safe Place for Youth youth crime prevention strategies at the same time the interactions and connections made through the workshops will hopefully help nurture opportunities for more community-owned action.
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray at the Gathering
Final Problem-Solving Workshop for CTF: The Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth Community Task Force CTF met for its 5th workshop in May 2014 to take a deeper look at the Place-Based Risk Factors (PBRF) and the interventions identified at previous workshops. Each hotspot team “tested” the connection of the interventions to the PBRF and the specific youth crime problem we address by telling “the story” about the relationship between the PBRF and the crime problem, and what we hope the interventions will achieve. Teams also discussed and rated the proposed interventions for achievability and impact. (Link to workshop notes) The CTF will meet in the summer of 2014 (date/location TBA) to review new data and give input on a draft implementation plan.
Celebration: On May 31, 2014 the Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth Core Team and United Story hosted a “Gathering” event at Southshore K-8 School. Close to 200 community members gathered to experience and interact with the community stories collected through Breaking the Pane workshops through visual art installations and performances by local artists inspired by the stories. The Gathering also marked the start of the implementation phase of the Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth initiative and provided an opportunity to showcase the work of the Community Task Force and draft Logic Models for youth crime prevention interventions. (Link to draft logic models) The afternoon was capped off by a recognition ceremony for the dedicated community volunteers that have served as the Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth Community Task Force.
Celebration: On May 31, 2014 the Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth Core Team and United Story hosted a “Gathering” event at Southshore K-8 School. Close to 200 community members gathered to experience and interact with the community stories collected through Breaking the Pane workshops through visual art installations and performances by local artists inspired by the stories. The Gathering also marked the start of the implementation phase of the Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth initiative and provided an opportunity to showcase the work of the Community Task Force and draft Logic Models for youth crime prevention interventions. (Link to draft logic models) The afternoon was capped off by a recognition ceremony for the dedicated community volunteers that have served as the Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth Community Task Force.
Project Summary (updated March 31, 2014)
Hotspot Team notes Workshop #4.
Update covering CTF Workshop #3 (February 22, 2014 at Southlake School) and Workshop #4 (March 15, 2014 at Emerald City Bible Fellowship):
The Community Task Force (CTF) continued the problem-solving process by analyzing updated Seattle Police Department (SPD) incident and victimization data and CAD data (Computer Aided Dispatch) for 2013 for the five hotspot locations. The CTF also received additional data from the SPD in the form of a panel discussion with SPD (CTF Workshop #3) and more specific information from a focus group discussion with SPD officers assigned to working schools and outreach to youth. With new information the CTF Hotspot Teams reviewed decisions made at Workshop #2 on ranking of “top priority” crimes to see if anything had changed in light of the new data. The priority crimes will be the focus for future non-arrest interventions.
Next the CTF identified Place-Based Risk Factors (PBRF) connected to the specific crimes we want to impact at the specific hotspot locations where youth victimization and crime occurs. From there the Hotspot Teams tested the PBRF’s they identified for a direct connection to the focus crimes for by asking;
What will we achieve if we reduce this PBRF at this specific hotspot?
Is it actionable?
More data collection is scheduled for March and April 2014 and a final CTF Workshop is scheduled for April 26, 2014. (Click here for link to Supplemental Data on 5 Hotspots – Updated January 2014, CAD Data and Hotspot Team discussion notes)
The Community Task Force (CTF) continued the problem-solving process by analyzing updated Seattle Police Department (SPD) incident and victimization data and CAD data (Computer Aided Dispatch) for 2013 for the five hotspot locations. The CTF also received additional data from the SPD in the form of a panel discussion with SPD (CTF Workshop #3) and more specific information from a focus group discussion with SPD officers assigned to working schools and outreach to youth. With new information the CTF Hotspot Teams reviewed decisions made at Workshop #2 on ranking of “top priority” crimes to see if anything had changed in light of the new data. The priority crimes will be the focus for future non-arrest interventions.
Next the CTF identified Place-Based Risk Factors (PBRF) connected to the specific crimes we want to impact at the specific hotspot locations where youth victimization and crime occurs. From there the Hotspot Teams tested the PBRF’s they identified for a direct connection to the focus crimes for by asking;
What will we achieve if we reduce this PBRF at this specific hotspot?
Is it actionable?
More data collection is scheduled for March and April 2014 and a final CTF Workshop is scheduled for April 26, 2014. (Click here for link to Supplemental Data on 5 Hotspots – Updated January 2014, CAD Data and Hotspot Team discussion notes)
Project Summary (updated February 10, 2014)
Over 50 Community Task Force (CTF) volunteers participated in CTF Workshop #2 on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at Southlake School. The first half of the workshop involved a panel discussion with Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers. The questions for the SPD panel were generated by the CTF at their first workshop in December 2013 from the initial review of SPD Incident and Victimization data for the five hotspots. During the second half of the workshop the CTF reviewed and discussed the new information provided by the SPD panel as well as recent SPD Incident and Victimization data compiled by researchers at George Mason University. (Supplemental Data on 5 Hotspots - Updated January 2014; Link to page with hotspot team notes) Based on this new information the CTF Hotspot Teams identified and prioritized by ranking the types of crime occurring at their hotspots. The top priorities will be the focus for future non-arrest interventions. Hotspot Teams will have an opportunity at future workshops to revisit these preliminary decisions in the light of new data received.
Over 50 Community Task Force (CTF) volunteers participated in CTF Workshop #2 on Tuesday, January 28, 2014 at Southlake School. The first half of the workshop involved a panel discussion with Seattle Police Department (SPD) officers. The questions for the SPD panel were generated by the CTF at their first workshop in December 2013 from the initial review of SPD Incident and Victimization data for the five hotspots. During the second half of the workshop the CTF reviewed and discussed the new information provided by the SPD panel as well as recent SPD Incident and Victimization data compiled by researchers at George Mason University. (Supplemental Data on 5 Hotspots - Updated January 2014; Link to page with hotspot team notes) Based on this new information the CTF Hotspot Teams identified and prioritized by ranking the types of crime occurring at their hotspots. The top priorities will be the focus for future non-arrest interventions. Hotspot Teams will have an opportunity at future workshops to revisit these preliminary decisions in the light of new data received.
CAS Team on Saturday, 2/8/14 near Saars Marketplace.
On Saturday February 8, 2014 members of the CTF with the support of the Seattle Neighborhood Group (SNG) participated in a Community Appearance Survey of the Rainier and Henderson hotspot. Community Appearance Surveys are an opportunity to take a closer look and “inventory” the physical condition of the hotspot focus areas prior to implementing interventions. CAS for the remaining hotspots will be scheduled in coming weeks.
Project Summary (updated January 15, 2014)
In June 2014, the newly formed project Core Team participated in a 3-Day CADCA Community-Based Problem Solving training as a test run of a community training. Based on input from the Core Team, CADCA made modifications of training content and format for Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth project. (Click here for descriptions of project roles and responsibilities)
Outreach Phase: Outreach began in September 2013 and was conducted by the Project Coordinator, members of the Core Team and Public Outreach & Engagement Liaisons contracted to inform and assist in recruitment of members of historically underrepresented communities. The outreach effort was focused on recruiting stakeholders from the Rainier Beach community with direct connections to the five “hotspot” focus areas to form a Community Task Force (CTF).
On Saturday, October 26, 2013 we held a 1-day Community-Based Problem Solving with CADCA at Southshore K-8 School. The intent of the training was to prepare the newly recruited CTF for the process of using data from a variety of sources to define the underlying conditions and risk factors that contribute to youth crime at the hotspots. The training was attended by 85 members of the Rainier Beach community and videotaped by community partner Multimedia Resources and Training Institute (MMRTI) for future community trainings.
In early December 2013 we held the first of a series of five workshops for the CTF. The CTF volunteers formed into five “Hotspot Teams” based on their connection with the particular hotspots – some owned or worked in businesses at the hotspot, others attended lived or attended school, shopped at adjacent businesses or were users of the public places like Community Center or Light Rail. At the Workshop the Hoptspot Teams explored the initial hotspot data prepared by GMU researchers and identified additional information/data needed to better understand the underlying conditions that contribute to youth victimization and offending at each of the hotspot locations. (Scroll down page for link to CTF Workshop #1 Hotspot Team notes)
In the coming weeks Researchers from GMU will work with the project Core Team and the Community Task Force to gather the additional information/data requested. For a current update contact Barb Biondo, Project Coordinator by phone at 206-322-6134 or by email at barb@sngi.org.
In June 2014, the newly formed project Core Team participated in a 3-Day CADCA Community-Based Problem Solving training as a test run of a community training. Based on input from the Core Team, CADCA made modifications of training content and format for Rainier Beach: A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth project. (Click here for descriptions of project roles and responsibilities)
Outreach Phase: Outreach began in September 2013 and was conducted by the Project Coordinator, members of the Core Team and Public Outreach & Engagement Liaisons contracted to inform and assist in recruitment of members of historically underrepresented communities. The outreach effort was focused on recruiting stakeholders from the Rainier Beach community with direct connections to the five “hotspot” focus areas to form a Community Task Force (CTF).
On Saturday, October 26, 2013 we held a 1-day Community-Based Problem Solving with CADCA at Southshore K-8 School. The intent of the training was to prepare the newly recruited CTF for the process of using data from a variety of sources to define the underlying conditions and risk factors that contribute to youth crime at the hotspots. The training was attended by 85 members of the Rainier Beach community and videotaped by community partner Multimedia Resources and Training Institute (MMRTI) for future community trainings.
In early December 2013 we held the first of a series of five workshops for the CTF. The CTF volunteers formed into five “Hotspot Teams” based on their connection with the particular hotspots – some owned or worked in businesses at the hotspot, others attended lived or attended school, shopped at adjacent businesses or were users of the public places like Community Center or Light Rail. At the Workshop the Hoptspot Teams explored the initial hotspot data prepared by GMU researchers and identified additional information/data needed to better understand the underlying conditions that contribute to youth victimization and offending at each of the hotspot locations. (Scroll down page for link to CTF Workshop #1 Hotspot Team notes)
In the coming weeks Researchers from GMU will work with the project Core Team and the Community Task Force to gather the additional information/data requested. For a current update contact Barb Biondo, Project Coordinator by phone at 206-322-6134 or by email at barb@sngi.org.
This website is maintained by Barb Biondo, Project Coordinator
barb@sngi.org or 206-322-6134, Seattle Neighborhood Group, 1810 E Yesler Way, Seattle, WA 98122.
