Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence

"Peace gang: Two rival gang members return to the streets to play the role of peacemakers"

Two Institute Streetworkers are featured in the Providence Journal, describing the challenges and the hopes they have for their communities.

The story includes interviews with Streetworkers Ray, Tou and Executive Director Teny Gross, as well as previous stories on Streetworkers program manager Ajay Benton ("He gave up crime to save others from gangs") and Senior Streetworker, Sareth Tony Kim ("Once he killed; now he turns to peacemaker").

Check out the Providence Journal's multimedia page on Ray and Tou...

or,

view/download a PDF of the article here.

Providence Business News: Streetworkers do their part to limit gang violence

Social justice
Streetworkers do their part to limit gang violence

PBN PHOTO/MATTHEW HEALEY
TENY GROSS, executive director of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, talks to Institute “Streetworker” Larry Davis, right, and Brandon Ferrell.

By Denise Perreault
PBN Staff Writer

Barry Preston, managing director of the Armory Revival Co. on Westminster Street, credits a dedicated group of young people with improving the safety of what was a tough part of Valley Street in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood.

“Four years ago, we renovated an old mill there, in an environment that was not thought to be safe and we were concerned about that,” he said last week. Col. Dean Esserman, Providence’s police chief, referred him to a group called the Streetworkers. Preston said his business then teamed up with educators at the Oliver H. Perry Middle School to find the funds to bring the Streetworkers to Olneyville.

Institute awarded $352,000 in federal appropriations

A warm thank you to US Representatives Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin!

A curb on street violence
Providence Journal
By W. Zachary Malinowski
Journal Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

PROVIDENCE — Sal Monteiro Jr., a streetworker at the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, had a simple message yesterday for the bankers, educators, police officers, politicians and social workers who gathered at the South Side Recreation Center.

“Nonviolence is not for cowards,” he said. “It’s for courageous people. We are a small group, but we are committed.”

Monteiro was one of several speakers at yesterday’s announcement that the nonprofit agency had received $352,000 in federal appropriations to continue its battle against gang violence and help troubled youth in some of the city’s worst neighborhoods.

U.S. Representatives Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin were both on hand to praise the institute and the streetworkers.

Institute selected as Citizens Bank "Champion in Action"

text from Citizens Bank website:

Get involved in your community by helping those who are already making a difference.

Our Champions in Action* are shining examples of dedication and determination in community outreach. And they look to community members, like you, to come forward and lend a hand.

The Institute’s Streetworkers respond 24/7 to help teenagers and residents prevent and deal with conflict peacefully. The Institute’s Summer Jobs Program provides training and personal mentoring for inner-city teenagers during the most dangerous summer months. To date, more than 35 organizations have provided jobs and training to nearly 200 high school youth. Through the Nonviolence Training Program, The Institute has successfully trained 5,000 children in Cranston, Lincoln, Pawtucket, Woonsocket and Providence to use nonviolence practices. 

What you can do to help

• Make a donation -- Citizens Bank customers can make a tax-deductible contribution through Online Bill Payment available with Citizens Bank Online®. You can also send your contribution directly to The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence at the address below.
• Volunteer -- Volunteers are an important part of The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence.
• Learn more -- Tune into NBC 10 or contact the The Institute for the Study and Practice.

*Formerly Community Champions

Lifespan: supporting our Streetworkers' health and our work

from Lifespan's 2006 Annual Report (emphasis added by us):

THE INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY AND PRACTICE OF NONVIOLENCE
Ending Violence, Vendettas and Vengeance

There are roughly forty people in the emergency department who are anticipating news about a gunshot victim. Most are family and friends, but some are rival gang members. The atmosphere is tense.

The medical team is working to save the teenager’s life. Social workers are doing their best to comfort the family. Security is trying to calm the agitated crowd. Then, a small group of young adults enters the building. At that moment, the crowd visibly relaxes. The streetworkers have arrived.

Providence Journal: City’s community policing receives more high praise

City’s community policing receives more high praise
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
By Gregory Smith
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — Prof. Herman Goldstein, whom Police Chief Dean M. Esserman calls “the father of community policing,” dropped by police headquarters yesterday.

Goldstein’s internationally influential book, Problem-Oriented Policing, is mandatory study for supervisors vying for promotion in the Police Department.

His thesis is that policing is so difficult and complex that the problems the police confront must be broken down and analyzed, and a body of knowledge accumulated that can spur well-informed action.

Institute, Providence PD win MetLife Community-Police Partnership Award

Read the official announcement here.

below, coverage from Providence Business News:

PROVIDENCE – In a ceremony this morning at Riverside Park in Olneyville, the MetLife Foundation honored three city organizations for their success in reducing crime. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Mayor David N. Cicilline and MetLife Vice President Michael Convery were among those on hand for the 10 a.m. presentation of two MetLife Foundation Community-Police Partnership Awards.

• The Olneyville Housing Corporation and the Providence Police Department shared a $25,000 first-place Neighborhood Revitalization Award, for helping turn around the Olneyville neighborhood by acquiring vacant land and “nuisance” properties and replacing them with attractive, affordable housing. “These efforts have resulted in 51 new affordable homes and a 70-percent reduction in crime around targeted properties,” the MetLife Foundation said.

“There are a lot of people and organizations in Olneyville working toward building a healthy neighborhood that provides everything a family needs to be successful,” Frank Shea, executive director of Olneyville Housing, said in a statement. “Every day, the Providence Police Department is a key partner in this work. We appreciate the MetLife Foundation for recognizing and supporting our efforts.”

• The Institute for Study & Practice of Nonviolence received a $15,000 award in a “Special Strategy” Gang Prevention and Youth Safety category for its “Streetworkers” program, which trains young people to mediate gang conflicts and intervene in neighborhood crises. The streetworkers – who include former gang members – seek to teach nonviolence, by word and example, and reconnect local youths with their schools and families.