Monterey County received $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Preventing Violence Affecting Young Lives (PREVAYL) funding opportunity.
The funds are geared toward helping extend the Monterey County Health Department’s Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere (STRYVE) Program for another year, which implements evidence-based approaches to prevent youth violence, according to U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose.
“One of my top priorities in Congress is ensuring that our communities are secure and healthy places to live and raise a family,” Lofgren said in a statement. “I am very glad to see that Monterey County is receiving this federal funding that will be used to continue its youth violence prevention efforts. The data shows that we’re making progress, but there is still work to be done, and we need to continue creating an environment where young people feel safe."
The Monterey County Health Department began its STRYVE Program in 2011, with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making it one of only four public health departments in the country to receive this funding, according to the Monterey County Health Department webpage.
Since the start of the program, Monterey County went from having the highest levels of youth violence in California in 2012, to a decline in the number of juvenile arrests, and violent assaults of youth ages 10-24 in Salinas, according to the same Monterey County Health Department webpage.
The funding will continue to support these results by Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design in schools, where students help identify environmental conditions that contribute to safety concerns and develop strategies to improve those spaces. One of those plans is That’s Not Cool, a national public education campaign and digital initiative designed to help teens identify and prevent digital dating abuse, controlling behavior, and cyberbullying in relationship and staff support for the continued development of a countywide violence prevention strategic plan.
The program includes coordination with community partners and alignment of state violence prevention efforts.
"As a longtime partner of the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace, I've been deeply invested in violence prevention work in Salinas, and proud of our results that show we are successfully keeping our children safe,” said Chair of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, Wendy Root Askew in a statement. "We are grateful to have the strong support of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren who secured funds needed to continue this critical work.”