After an eye-opening news conference held last week at which Oakland’s acting police chief discussed a surge in violence and a rash of burglaries in the city, CBS Bay Area looked at what community groups like Youth ALIVE! are doing to stem the tide of violence and empower Oakland youth to create change. The report featured interviews with Teens on Target youth leader Sierra Taylor and YA! executive director Joseph Griffin. A student at Castlemont High in East Oakland, Sierra spoke about what TNT youth learn and the lessons they take to their peers. “We started discussing the root causes of violence, such as poverty, easy access to guns, drugs, and alcohol, and how all of these factors contribute to violence. I became passionate about addressing these issues,” Sierra explained. Dr. Griffin talked about the complex roots of violence in Oakland and the long journey to healing after violence. “Programs like Teens on Target, and our violence interruption program, ensure that individuals receive assistance from the moment of trauma to their healing journey,” Griffin said. See the CBS Bay Area video and report here.
YA! ED Dr Joseph Griffin with Alameda Health System Foundation President Preston Walton
Youth ALIVE! held our annual fundraiser Wednesday morning, a breakfast to kickoff Oakland’s 510 Day. The dining room at Sequoyah Country Club in East Oakland was packed with friends and supporters of our work and our community. They heard Teens on Target youth leader Xavier Tillery (pictured below) talk about his experiences in the program.
Join us at our Elm Street offices for the Teens on Target Experience. Sit in on a Teens on Target (TNT) violence prevention workshop just like the ones our TNT youth leaders present at Oakland middle schools. The original TNT prevention workshops were designed by East Oakland teens in the 1990s and are regularly updated by Oakland TNT youth leaders today. These middle school workshops take place over an entire week in a given classroom and include modules on Youth Preventing Gun Violence, Youth Preventing Gang/Turf Violence, Youth Preventing Family and Dating Violence, Enhancing Skills in Violence Prevention. This is a free one-hour long event. Join us and some of our amazing TNT youth leaders! Register here.
“When survivors speak, change happens,” hundreds of rally participants chanted as they marched State Capital at Sacramento to begin the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice (CSSJ) California Survivors Speak Conference and Rally. The rally and conference previewed this week’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and its theme: Survivor Voices: Elevate. Engage. Effect Change.
In a day of action organized by March for Our Lives, youth gathered in state capitals across the country last weekend to advocate for stronger gun safety laws. In Sacramento, youth from around the state spoke in favor of SB 2, a bill to strengthen licensing and tracking of gun owners in the California. Youth ALIVE! Teens on Target youth leaders passionately called for increased funding for mental health and violence prevention programs. TNT youth leader Sierra Taylor addressed the rally and spoke about living amid daily violence in East Oakland and the transformative power of youth programs like TNT. See a CBS video report on the rally. Watch Sierra’s great speech below:
Youth ALIVE! Executive Director Joseph Griffin, DrPh
I am excited to greet you today as Youth ALIVE!’s new Executive Director. To be honest, this role feels much more like a homecoming for me than a totally new beginning. I joined the Youth ALIVE! family as a program coordinator way back in 2009 and have worked at and with YA! in a variety of capacities over the years. Now, in my new role, I am eager to continue the momentum Oakland’s anchor violence prevention agency has generated as a provider of prevention, intervention and healing for our community, and as a national leader in community violence prevention.
Today, we are writing to share the exciting news that our Board of Directors has appointed Youth ALIVE’s new Executive Director, Dr. Joseph Griffin, DrPH, MPH, in a unanimous vote. This hire comes after an extensive search process.
Oakland’s nationally recognized, anchor community organization forviolence prevention, intervention and healing appoints the third permanent Executive Director in its 31-year history
Our staff and programs held numerous toy drives and holiday parties for our clients this year. Their events are supported by Youth ALIVE!, but the work they do to gather gifts and create fun holiday events is all voluntary. They know that our wounded neighbors and grieving families feel extra pain and stress when the holidays come, and so they seek to bring them a little relief and even a little joy. Here are some pictures from giveaways and events held by our Violence Interrupters, CiC and TNT staff, our Khadafy Washington Project and Counseling staff and the folks in Development.
Before the Alameda DA vote, important conversations
Posted December 13, 2022
Our DA Candidate Forum -
Partnering with our friends at Broken by Violence, Youth ALIVE! held an Alameda County District Attorney election forum at the Oakland Public Library in Rockridge. Policy and Advocacy Director Gabriel Garcia spoke with candidates Terry Wiley and Pamela Price about their visions for preventing gun violence and serving victims in Alameda County. Check out videos of the conversations on our Youth ALIVE! YouTube channel, or below -
