Community Violence And Preventative Strategies To Stop It

Abstract

In this essay the topic is based upon the violence that present in the communities and the prevention strategies that have been implemented to try help put a stop to it. This essay is going to examine the relationship that can be found between the violence with in a community and the prevention strategies that have been implemented. The main aim of this essay is to explore the different strategies that have been put in place to help the communities and prevent violence with in these communities. The basis of this essay is to determine the level to which the strategies have any effect on the violence with in a community. The findings in this essay provided a very clear outcome that there is a relationship between the preventative strategies implemented and the reduction to the violence that occurs in a community.

Violence is a big problem that plagues communities. Due to this problem communities have had to adapt and evolve to try combat the struggles that come with violence. In this essay an attempt will be made to explain the correlation between violence and the communities it affects. The first paragraph will explain the concept of community violence and the second paragraph will provide background on some prevention strategies. The next three paragraphs provide strategies that have been implemented by the communities to try decrease violence. The third paragraph will explore the strategy of school-based programs in the community. The fourth paragraph explains the strategies that have been put in place to prevent violence due to alcohol. The last paragraph is the initiative of One Vision which helps the community that it is integrated into. The essay will then be concluded with all the main points summed up.

Community Violence

The definition to the concept of community violence is the violence that is among individuals who either know or do not each other, individuals that are either related or not related to each other and it occurs generally happens outside from the household. Violence within a community is classified as interpersonal violence. Interpersonal violence is the deliberate use of physical force or strength to either threaten or commit an act towards others which ends in deadly consequences. Not only the violence within the numerous communities but violence as a whole has been come so desensitized to everyone because it is such a frequent occurrence. Violence in communities mainly occur in many underdeveloped communities because there is almost a sense of ‘survival of the fittest’ and they have to do anything to stay alive. When it is the only way for the people to provide for their families and themselves, they do not see the problems they are causing by initiating and increasing the violence within a community. There is adolescence that grow up with some sort of community violence occurring happening all around them. In their lifetimes both boys and girls have witnessed a terrible crime being committed in their communities. The results of these children witnessing the violent acts committed in the community are terrible. They develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), they get involved as they view it as the normal things to do or they act out and become aggressive. Community violence was identified as being a part of the thirteen isolated types of trauma. The concept of community violence can be seen in two different ways, a trauma and a dimension of trauma. Community violence is a type of trauma when it is describing types of violence that corrupts healthy development. When community violence is a dimension of trauma then used to choose who was really affected by violence. Violent crimes are a big problem in most of the communities around the world. Even though the communities are helped out by varies different organizations there is still a pressing problem that is expanding. The violence that is sometimes witnessed in communities are assaults that involve the youth, acquaintances and people that do not know each other, violence linked to crimes on property, workplace violence and violence in other institutions. Violence is not something random and it is not an outcome of incomprehensible events. Violence is not an unpreventable certainty in people’s lives, it is rather a sequence of events that leads its prediction but also its prevention.

Intervention Strategies

There are many people that are killed due to the violence that occurs around them. They are either involved in the heinous act or they are at the wrong place at the wrong time. Violence in all varies is seen as one of the leading causes of death in human kind. Violence is a factor that almost every youth face. It is a really big problem that has effects them, as victims or the perpetrator, as well as the people around them. This is their families, friends and the surrounding communities. There are many ideas on how to try managing the reoccurrence of crimes but the strategies on crime prevention is a goal that every community tries to thrive for. In order for the crime to stop before it has even started there are factors that need to be addressed on different levels. Such as the community, relational, individual and social. The community is sometimes given the helping hand they desperately need but it is then up to the community to continue with the preventative measures to stop violence from happening again.

First Strategy

There has been research conducted and the findings suggest that adolescence are more at risk of violence in the community then other youth in different age groups. A helpful strategy in trying to lessen violence in the community would be programs at schools. It is more often where the community first look to for the answers to the community violence in the youth. Schools help the youth with the attitudes, knowledges and awareness on violence and about violence that is present. A school environment promotes social-cognitive thinking which helps them to equip themselves with the necessary skills they need to deal effectively with difficult situations. With the prevention methods that are taught in schools to aid students, it is better to start then they are at a younger age so that the student can fully grasp the concepts and adapt to the preventions that are taught. It allows for them to grow with the prevention methods and implement them in their daily lives. It is easier to implement a prevention for violence at a school level is a large section of the population attends some kind of educational institution. If implemented correctly the preventions that are taught to adolescence can be taken out of a school setting and can help them to remain aware of the violence that is present in their every day surrounds, thus aiding them not to fall into any similar patterns. Trained professional offer programs that can help adolescence to learn valuable life skills. The school curriculum has been adapted to accommodate for these life skills to be learnt through the use of a subject called Life Orientation. It provides a student with helpful knowledge on violence prevention and healthy life choices that they can take back into their communities. With these choices the people can help put preventative measures in place in their communities in order to aid the prevention of violent acts. These school programmes help to create a safer healthier environment to grow up in.

Second Strategy

Another strategy to aid in the prevention of violence which is occurring in communities is the reduction or restriction of harmful substances and lethal means. There is a chance that the consumption of alcohol can result in a person being either the attacker or the victim. It is prominent in communities because there is a lot of easy targets. Alcohol plays a factor in the escalation of violence, but it can be managed through programs set out by the community. They can implement community interventions where there are briefings given to both parents and adolescence. Also, long-term treatment plans can be offered for the people that struggle with substance abuse, like alcohol. The problem with alcohol in communities is that it is freely available. Alcohol is a substance that people consume because it is a remedy to take away their problems they are faced with. Unfortunately, alcohol tends to escalate issues in the surrounds of the person and violence is the end result. To prevent violence from happening due to the environmental factors in a community, the community offers to access in rectifying the situation by improving the environment. Some of the things the community implements are easier ways for people, that has been consuming alcohol, to get home as lifts are made available. Infrastructure is upgraded so there is not such little room for the people frequenting the place that sell alcohol. The community tries to be more welcoming with the consumption of alcohol but there are stricter rules should be put in place to make it more difficult to get access to alcohol as it is easy to purchase alcohol in most communities. So, there should be exact times when alcohol is available but after the time period it is prohibited from being bought or sold. Within the communities there should be a raise in alcohol prices, this makes it less desirable to purchase any alcohol.

Third Strategy

There is a strategy that is implemented in communities through a program called One Vision. One Vision uses a street-level approach to problem solving, become aware and get involved when violence starts. One Visions main goal is to reduce violence that takes place with in communities. This initiative works on building up the community to prevent any violence from occurring. One Vision works to bring new businesses into the communities to allow for employment and development. They stay connected for small key organizations in order to help out the community. This initiative aims to try bringing some sort of order into a community where there is not a lot of guidance. The people that form part of this program have all come from backgrounds where violence has plagued their communities, so they have an intimate knowledge of what people face on a daily basis. Each person is given a community that they are familiar with and sent to help out those communities. They are trained in three areas to better assist with any violent problems that may arise. With the help of these people communities are able to focus on the bad areas and try aid them by ‘cleaning up’ all the illegal things that are taking place. One Vision helps to build and mend relationships in the communities by initiating group gatherings to bring the people of the community together. A part of the work that One Vision does is to identify any potential threats of violence that some people may possess and dealing with them before they escalate. They provide at risk people with the proper care and counselling in order for them to get back on track and develop positive life choices.

Conclusion

Violence in communities ruins the relationships that are built between people and degrades communities because no one wants to go to any community that has a problem with violence. There is preventative measure that can be put in place to try with prevent the violence from running rampant. Throughout this essay there has been evidence shown of strategies that have been implemented in communities to try better them as well as to try and prevent violence from constantly occurring. Some of these strategies take a while to achieve as the results cannot be seen straight away but they are doing good things in the communities. Many small organisations have taken on the responsibility of helping out the communities to make them sustainable for people to want to stay there or come back to. Violence on a community has devastating effects on the people that live there but hopefully with the help of some community strategies the communities can get back what violence took from them.

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