TEENS ON TARGET (TNT) started in 1989 in response to the large number of children dying from violence throughout the country, and specifically because of the increasing number of shootings in and around schools in Oakland, California. When Deane Calhoun, a public health activist, discovered that gun homicides were the leading cause of death for children in California, she started research and policy work to reduce access to guns. She felt that youth living in neighborhoods with the highest rates of violence needed positive alternatives to violence, and that it was essential that they played a leadership role in violence prevention efforts. Armed with public health facts and a vision, she worked with Oakland School District staff and 10 high school students to start TEENS ON TARGET and two years later, Youth ALIVE!

TNT trains high school students and young adults – called Peer Educators – from neighborhoods with elevated levels of violence to present interactive violence prevention workshops to middle and high school students.

To date, over 800 young people have been trained to be Peer Educators. These young people have reached over 40,000 students in Oakland and Los Angeles. The workshops are designed to enable students to participate in making their lives, their neighborhoods and their communities safer and healthier.

Some of the Peer Educators are in wheelchairs from being shot, and all have experienced or are at great risk for experiencing violence first hand.

They undergo an extensive six-week after-school training on how to educate their peers and speak about the impact of violence in their lives. Facilitated by staff, they continue to meet twice a week after school throughout the school year to support one another and continue their training.

They also receive a monthly stipend for their participation. For most, this is their first real job experience.

In the workshops they conduct, the Peer Educators discuss:

• What are the root causes of violence?
• How do we prevent gun violence, gang violence, and family and dating violence? How do these interrelate?
• What are the connections between alcohol, drugs and violence?

ADVOCACY WORKS!

TNT’s Peer Educators are public health experts in advocating for violence prevention policies in their community. They move from being victims to advocates, and work in their community to limit access to the means of destruction.The Peer Educators are trained in how to speak out:

• to adult leaders in the community
• to policy makers
• at professional conferences
• to the media

. . . about violence and its impact on kids, and about how young people can be the experts in preventing violence.

TNT’s Peer Educators have presented expert testimonies before city councils, school boards, members of county boards of supervisors, and the California State Legislature.

They have been featured in local, state, and national newspapers, magazines, journals, and on radio and television, including PBS, CNN and MTV.

Through these numerous media appearances, they demonstrate to the public that youth can truly be leaders in violence prevention, as opposed to being portrayed solely as victims or perpetrators.

ADVOCACY SUCCESSES!

Ban on Assault Weapons in CA: Founding TNT members with Youth ALIVE! founder Deane Calhoun provided expert testimony to the California state legislature as part of the coalition to ban assault weapons.The coalition, made up of doctors, teachers, law enforcement and community members, was led by current California Senate President Don Perata.The ban, the first of its kind in the nation, was passed in 1989.

Gun Tracing: TNT Peer Educators convinced the Oakland City Council to require the Police Department to trace guns confiscated from youth, to determine where these illegal guns are originating and who is profiting. Youth ALIVE! also conducted its own primary research on gun tracing; see Youth ALIVE!'s reports on gun tracing.

Youth ALIVE!'S article on “The Supply and Demand for Guns to Juveniles: Oakland’s Gun Tracing Project” was published in the Journal of Urban Health, December, 2005.

Gun Dealers: TNT Peer Educators testified at Oakland City Council meetings, made a video, generated widespread media coverage, and succeeded in getting neighborhood gun dealers banned from the city. Previously there were 115 dealers in Oakland; now there is one.

Gun Advertising: Peer Educators campaigned successfully to stop the Oakland Tribune from running advertisements of handguns and assault rifles.

Safe Schools: TNT Peer Educators work with TNT staff and a partner program, the Relationship Abuse Prevention Project, to lobby the district for protocols to address the problem of dating violence.

In April, 2006, Oakland Unified School District appoved a District-wide Dating Violence Prevention Policy, recognizing violence as a serious issue that confronts young people, and establishing a plan for preventing and responding more effectively to dating violence at each school site and throughout the district.

Coaches Against Gun Violence: TNT Peer Educators work with coaches and a partner organization, the Alliance for Justice, to publicize the problem of guns by making presentations during halftime at high school basketball and football games.