Preventing Youth Violence

Overview

Youth violence is a serious problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities.

It is an adverse childhood experience and a type of community violence that impacts young people and limits opportunities to thrive.

Everyone can help support young people and prevent violence.

Prevention

Parents and families can:

• Learn about links between children's experiences with violence and their health.
• Talk with young people about violence and ask how you can support them.
• Reach out to local programs to learn effective parenting practices.
• Securely store firearms (for example, in a gun safe or lock box) to prevent access by children and other unauthorized users.

Communities can:

• Make mentoring, apprenticeship, and leadership programs more available.
• Collaborate with health departments, local businesses, and other partners to design and promote healthy and safe neighborhoods, including cleaning and maintaining vacant lots.
• Make use of effective social and economic policies that reduce risks for violence.
• Invest in programs such as street outreach that support youth at risk and reduce conflicts.

Schools can:

• Adopt policies and practices that create safe and supportive environments.
• Teach students skills to navigate social and emotional challenges.
• Connect students experiencing violence to mental health and support services.
• Build strong bonds between staff and students to improve connectedness to school.
• Improve safety on common walking or biking routes to school.
• Create after-school programs to help youth strengthen academic skills and provide a safe place to socialize.

Engaging youth in prevention

Youth are the experts on their experiences with violence. Directly engaging youth in preventing violence helps them:

• Make healthy choices by promoting awareness and understanding of the consequences of violence.
• Be a leader and voice for change in their communities and schools.
• Advise community and school decision-makers on strategies to effectively prevent violence.
• Promote respect and empathy among their family, friends, and peers.

What CDC is doing

CDC is committed to building systems and communities that ensure that every young person has the opportunity to thrive. By supporting young people at school, at home, in their communities, and for their future, we can prevent youth violence and reduce harms from experiencing it.

CDC funds Youth Violence Prevention Centers (YVPCs). YVPCs help communities benefit from scientific advances that prevent youth violence. YVPCs identify and test innovative violence prevention approaches. YVPCs also strengthen the use of effective prevention strategies in communities.

CDC funds the Preventing Violence Affecting Young Lives (PREVAYL) program. PREVAYL funding recipients address youth violence, teen dating violence, other adverse childhood experiences, and conditions that put communities at greater risk for violence.