Introduction
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound (BBBSPS) is collaborating with the City of Tacoma as a community partner. BBBSPS provides mentorship and guidance to youth, supporting them to navigate life’s challenges and encouraging their path forward. Through this partnership, we work together to address immediate concerns, create mentoring relationships, and ignite the potential of young people. The city’s efforts have expanded through three critical approaches: The Alpha Forum, Credible Messenger, and Community Advisory Board.
“The violence we face day-to-day, unfortunately, is the face of youth crime” – Officer Gordon Stark
According to the Youth & Young Adult Violence Assessment (2022), several risk factors have impacted youth throughout time. Students who experience violence at home or in school are significantly more likely to engage in violent behavior. LGBTQIA+ youth in schools report the highest rates of victimization, including bullying and fighting. Hence, these young people are at increased risk for violence.
Implementing a Collaborative Approach to Support the Community.
The City of Tacoma is approaching youth violence in a new way, considering the recent uptick in violence and the need for culturally relevant providers. The City has implemented practical solutions to positively impact community growth and foster emotional connections between Tacoma residents and young people. The three key ways Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound is involved in that work are as follows:
“The Youth Violence reduction initiative was an effort to put together various organizations that are invested in the improvement of young people’s lives here in Tacoma. This is the work that we really are passionate about” – Will Hausa, Vice President of Community Engagement.
- Alpha Forum: A group mentoring program that Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound co-hosted with the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity of Tacoma, with funding from the City of Tacoma. It is primarily for young men aged 10-15 who identify as African American, though all are welcome. Alpha Forum provides a safe space for young people to share their thoughts about current events and freely explore ideas with BIPOC leaders. As a result, we have proudly served more than 130 Tacoma residents, providing 20 hours of direct service.
“We go to Alpha Forum once a month, and we connect with other mentors and kids who are all like-minded and also facing the challenges of life, and we learn practical skills.” -Ross, Big Brother.
With 200+ youth on our waiting list for mentors—primarily boys and young men of color—it’s a game changer to have this vehicle to immediately connect them with our strongest community leaders. The details of our program and how it works can be found here: Link
- Credible Messenger: A transformative approach to mentoring that serves young men currently incarcerated at Remann Hall and Oakridge Juvenile Justice Facilities. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound is a community partner that passionately supports young people through both group mentoring and one-on-one sessions. We collaborate with each facility to identify youth most in need of support, providing them with advice and guidance. Credible Messenger also allows mentors to share their lived experiences, help the youth avoid negative influences, build healthy relationships, and equip them with essential skills in finance and employment.
“Will (the mentor) coming in is really important for our young people in the facility. Number one, they lose hope, they are in the critical stage of their life, where they need guidance and help.” – Steven Hill, Asst. Detention Manager, Pierce County, Juvenile Court.
With 24/7 facilities, the Juvenile Court has a dedicated team of officers, nurses, and medical health professionals to provide on-going support and services for youth in this area. Mentoring relationships will also help these young people become more confident. They will find positive role models, discover meaningful purposes in life, and understand that the world outside of the facility can be truly inspiring and worth living.
“We want to prepare these young people for a life outside of Remann Hall (Juvenile Court). We talk about education, job training, the power of decision making, and we also talk about non-violent forms of communication, where you can still get your point across without resorting to violence.” – Will Hausa
Find out more information about Juvenile Court in this link: https://www.piercecountywa.gov/112/Juvenile-Court
- Community Advisory Board (CAC): A strategic approach to enhance the partnership among Tacoma’s neighborhoods (Hilltop, East Side, and West of Tacoma Mall), service providers, and law enforcement. Together, we make an effort to prevent youth violence. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound is proudly leading the CAC by working closely with community members, gathering our partners, and facilitating meetings to address the City’s concerns. This strong collaboration helps us identify areas for improvement, receive updates on program implementation, and assess the structural issues that contribute to youth violence. By thoroughly understanding the situation, we will continuously expand our positive impact in mentoring relationships on the community.
We truly appreciate the diligent contributions of our partners in the City of Tacoma:
- City of Tacoma: https://www.cityoftacoma.org/
- Life Center: https://www.lifecenter.com/
- Big Homie program: https://thebighomieprogram.org/
- Tacoma Police Department: https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/police
- Tacoma Boat Builders: https://tacomaboatbuilders.org/
- Team Work: https://www.teamwrkfoundation.org/
- CLR Alliances
- Tacoma Public Schools: https://www.tacomaschools.org/
- Tacoma Urban League: https://www.thetacomaurbanleague.org/
- Consejo Counseling: https://www.consejocounseling.org/
- Trafficking Prevention
- Rebuilding Hope: https://rebuildinghope.org/
- Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department: https://tpchd.org/
For more information about the Youth Violence Prevention effort in the City of Tacoma, please visit: https://www.cityoftacoma.org/government/city_departments/neighborhood_and_community_services/youth_and_young_adult_violence_reduction
To know more about our partnership and story of the Match, please visit: Link
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