Youth Violence Prevention

 Building Safer Futures for Holyoke’s Young People

 

The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke is a proud and active partner in the City of Holyoke’s ongoing efforts to reduce violence, prevent gang involvement, and support youth on their path to success.
For many young people, the Club isn’t just a safe place — it’s a lifeline.

Our prevention strategy is funded in part by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Shannon Community Safety Initiative (CSI), which follows the national OJJDP Comprehensive Gang Model. This model brings multiple community partners together to create coordinated solutions that reduce gang activity, support high‑risk youth, and strengthen neighborhoods.

Preventing Youth Violence 

Our prevention programs are funded in part by The Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s Shannon Community Safety Initiative (CSI) which is modeled on the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Comprehensive Gang Model (CGM). The CGM is a multi-sector approach to addressing a community’s gang and youth violence problem. After completing a needs assessment, communities assemble a steering committee which uses data to develop strategies in the following five areas:

  • Social intervention programs for gang involved and proven risk youth include street outreach and case management. These programs reach out and act as links to gang-involved youth, their families, and other traditional social service providers. For high risk youth and at-risk youth, social intervention programs can include drop-in recreation, positive youth development, and other mechanisms to reach young people and connect them to positive adults and constructive activities.
  • Suppression programs include close supervision or monitoring of gang involved youth and other high impact players by police, prosecutors, probation officers, and other officers of the court. These programs include hotspot patrols, law enforcement home visits, ride-alongs, re-entry, and special prosecutors.
  • Opportunity provision programs provide education, training, and employment programs for gang involved youth and young people at high risk for youth violence and gang involvement.
  • Organizational change is the development and implementation of policies and procedures that result in the most effective use of available and potential resources, within and across agencies, to better address the gang problem.
  • Community mobilization includes educating the community about gang and youth violence trends in their city or neighborhood and involving them in strategies to confront the problem.

🔎 Our Comprehensive Approach

The Comprehensive Gang Model focuses on five coordinated strategies. Together, these strategies help address risk factors, provide opportunities, and create safer communities.

🧒 1. Social Intervention

Connecting with young people who need support the most.

Our social intervention efforts focus on reaching gang‑involved, proven‑risk, and high‑risk youth through:

  • Street outreach
  • Case management
  • Family engagement
  • Drop‑in recreation and positive youth development
  • Relationship‑building with caring adults
  • Pathways to safe activities and services

We meet youth where they are — and walk beside them toward safer, healthier choices.

🚔 2. Suppression

Working with partners to keep young people safe.

In collaboration with police, probation, prosecutors, and community agencies, suppression efforts include:

  • Focused supervision for high‑risk youth
  • Hotspot patrols
  • Home visits
  • Ride‑alongs
  • Re‑entry support for returning citizens
  • Coordination with special prosecutors

This strategy helps reduce violence while ensuring accountability and safety.

🎓 3. Opportunity Provision

Opening doors to education, employment, and brighter futures.

We help young people access:

  • Job training and internships
  • Career exploration
  • Educational programs
  • Employment readiness
  • GED/HiSET preparation
  • Case management support

When young people have real opportunities, violence declines — and futures expand.

🏛️ 4. Organizational Change

Strengthening the systems that support youth.

Through ongoing collaboration, we work with agencies across Holyoke to:

  • Improve communication
  • Align policies
  • Maximize shared resources
  • Strengthen community response systems

This ensures that all partners are working together, not separately, to support youth.

🏘️ 5. Community Mobilization

Engaging neighbors, parents, and local leaders.

We believe preventing violence requires the entire community. Efforts include:

  • Awareness and prevention workshops
  • Neighborhood engagement
  • Community partnerships
  • Empowering families to be active participants
  • Coordinating volunteers, mentors, and community groups

When communities unite, young people feel safer and supported.

🌟 Prevention Programs at the Club

📍 Satellite Units

Located in public housing communities (Toepfert, Lyman, Beaudoin Village, and Churchill), these year‑round programs provide:

  • Academic support
  • Healthy lifestyle activities
  • Character development
  • Safe after‑school programming

🎒 Drop-In Teen Membership Program

A safe and engaging environment for teens to socialize, learn, and develop leadership skills.

🔵 Keystone Club

A leadership and service group of 15 Holyoke teens who complete impactful community projects.

🧠 Young Men Matter, Too! (YM2)

Empowers at‑risk teen males with knowledge, skills, and mentorship to avoid risky behaviors.
Delivered in partnership with the Mass Alliance on Teen initiatives.

🏀 Holyoke Safe Neighborhood Initiative Basketball League

Engages 300+ young people yearly with coach‑mentors who teach teamwork, responsibility, and violence prevention.
Each 12‑week session focuses on different themes such as Drug & Alcohol Awareness, Gang Prevention, and more.

🛠️ Intervention Programs

🤝 Mentoring Program (50 Youth Served)

Provides one‑on‑one mentorship for teen males most at risk of violence.
Mentors include community members — including those who have overcome violence in their own lives — who guide young men toward:

  • Positive decision‑making
  • Safe relationships
  • Life skills and personal growth
  • Exposure to new environments across the state

❤️ A Safer Community Starts With Our Youth

Through prevention, intervention, mentorship, and strong community partnerships, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke is helping young people stay safe, stay connected, and stay on track toward bright futures.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Holyoke — Together, we are preventing youth violence — one relationship, one opportunity, and one young person at a time.