Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence

Community Leaders Inducted into 2010 MLK Hall of Fame

 

NAACP President Cliff Monteiro, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, Superior Court Judge O. Rogiree Thompson and Teny Gross, executive director of the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence

Mayor David N. Cicilline has inducted three Providence community leaders into the 7th annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Hall of Fame.  The ceremony recognized Superior Court Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson, Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence Executive Director Teny Gross and President of the NAACP Cliff Montiero for their efforts to advance civil rights in our community.  Providence is the only city in the nation with an official MLK Hall of Fame.  

AFP-RI Names the Institute Outstanding Philanthropic Organization of 2009

The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence has been selected as the 2009 Outstanding Philanthropic Organization by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  The award will be given at Rhode Island's National Philanthropy Day luncheon on Tuesday, November 24 at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

The Institute is in the company of impressive individuals and organizations who are this year’s National Philanthropy Day Community Award recipients.

Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, Outstanding Philanthropic Organization

Presented to a civic or service organization or foundation which has demonstrated a significant commitment to the community over above what might normally be expected. 

Brown Daily Herald: For a Select Squad, an Anti-Gang Vigil

October 9, 2009

George Miller

Metro Editor

After schoold Wednesday, three students are hanging out outside Gilbert Stuart Middle School in Providence. It’s been an hour or so since classes let out for the day, but they’re standing around talking to a grown man — a streetworker with the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, which aims to combat youth violence in the city. Two other streetworkers, Tony Kim and Ali Amoure, pull up to the curb in Kim’s car.

“Why aren’t you home yet?” Amoure asks one of them, whom he recognizes as a student at Bridgham, another middle school nearby that he watches over daily. He gets no definitive answer.

Tuesday, a student was arrested at Bridgham after trying to attack another student with a broken bottle, Amoure says. Four streetworkers were called to the scene.

Cranston Herald: Police Get $245K to Fight Gang Violence

October 2, 2009

By Meg Fraser

Cranston Herald

The Cranston Police Department received a major boost this week when they announced that they are on the receiving end of $245,995 in grant money from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Program.

The grant will allow the department to purchase seven new police cruisers, but will bring with it another addition as well – the city’s first civilian worker.

“I believe it will broaden our range of service to the community in that this is the first time we’ve used a civilian to address the problem on a social level,” said Chief of Police, Col. Marco Palombo.

The problem at hand is Cranston’s growing gang population.

WPRI: Providence Gets 10 New Streetworkers

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - A local organization is getting 10 new streetworkers to help make neighborhoods safe.

Providence Journal: Providence gang members take to the surf

Monday, August 31, 2009

W. Zachary Malinowski
Journal Staff Writer

Tropical Storm Danny kicked up a decent surf late Friday morning at Narragansett Town Beach, but the small group of gang members paddling on surfboards near the corner sea wall didn’t seem too fazed by the possibility of an impending storm or the dangers of the Atlantic.

The boys and young men from the streets of Providence are accustomed to danger: murders and drive-by shootings have been a regular part of their lives and all of them have spent time locked up for various crimes in the Training School in Cranston. Last week’s outing, was well … a day at the beach.

Providence Journal: Ranks of Providence street workers continue to grow

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
W. Zachary Malinowski
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — Rasheed Goode, a convicted drug dealer, was deep into his eight-year sentence at the federal prison in Ray Brook, N.Y., when he saw a story in The Providence Journal about an old rival from his days on the streets of Providence.

Goode said a copy of the paper was always floating around the prison, which is located in the Adirondacks and home to many mobsters, bank robbers and drug dealers from Rhode Island.

Goode read about how André “Ajay” Benton had left his criminal past behind and had become a crusader for peace as a senior street worker at the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence, based in South Providence.

New Institute newsletter - "straight talk"

View or download the PDF here (344K)

WRNI: A Peacemaker Remembered

 "Almost half of the children in Providence grow up in poverty. David Cartagena grew up poor in Rhode Island's capital, and became a criminal and gang member. But that's not how he'll be remembered. WRNI's Ian Donnis reports on how Cartagena changed not just his own life, but many of those with whom he came into contact."

Download / hear their report here (MP3, 2 MB)

The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence loses a great friend, David Cartagena

The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence is mourning the terrible loss of our beloved friend and peacemaker, David Cartagena, whose love, mentoring, intelligence and humor changed lives, inspired, and reminded us how the most loving and exceptional person can come from the hardest of circumstances.

We'd like to thank you all for your outpouring of support during this difficult time for the Institute family and the youth of Providence. (As a sampling, read the 50+ testimonials ("comments") here on this site about David's impact.)

The David Cartagena Memorial Fund has been established to help at-risk youth. To contribute to this fund, please make checks payable to the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence and write David Cartagena Memorial Fund in the memo line.
 
About David
David Cartagena of Providence, a Senior Streetworker at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, passed away this weekend after a car accident in Providence.  He was 38 years old.  He is survived by his parents and a young daughter.

David Cartagena had worked at the Institute as a nonviolence trainer and a Streetworker since 2005, and was taking courses towards a Bachelors Degree at Rhode Island College's School of Social Work.  He sat on several steering committees working on issues affecting children, youth and families.  Recently, David was the subject of a documentary photo essay by Rishwanth Jayapaul, called "Serving a Purpose," which is visible at http://viiphoto.ning.com/video/serving-a-purpose.

David was a former gang member who turned his life around and dedicated himself to the cause of nonviolence. In recent years, he was recognized by law enforcement and community organizations as a skilled mediator and valuable partner.  A gifted public speaker and storyteller, he was sought after as a speaker in nonviolence trainings.  He testified before Congress on gang intervention strategies and has worked with professionals in Connecticut, Guatemala, Massachusetts, Detroit, Michigan and Portland, Oregon on ways to curb youth violence. 

 "David was an exceptional youth worker and an excellent human being.  He made a huge impact on the community he loved to serve.  As his Institute family, we hope his impact will continue to be felt for a long time to come.  We will not soon recover from the heartbreak of this tragedy. Our thoughts are with his family."-Teny Gross, Executive Director.

Further tributes about David's remarkable life can be found on our website at www.nonviolenceinstitute.org.
 
We love you David.

Photo credits:  Richard Kizirian - David Cartagena and his daughter Jada at Waterfire event for the Institute; black & white photo by Rishwanth Jaypaul from his photo essay on David.

A poster in honor of David

From an interview for the Tufts Institute for Global Leadership Discourse journal.

Thanks to Heather Barry, Associate Director, Institute for Global Leadership, Tufts University for putting this together!

Clicking the image on the left will launch a new window with a 948KB JPG file. This version will fit on 11" x 17" paper.

A electronic copy (not a printout) of the  full-size version of the poster is 3 feet x 5 feet and is available as a 6.7MB PDF upon request. Write to hresko@gmail.com for an email copy. Sorry for any confusion!

Read what the Institute for Global Leadership wrote about David here.

Rishwanth Jaypaul's video slide show on David - narrated by David

Thanks Rishwanth!

Harvard Magazine on David & Teny: "Taking It to the Streets"

Harvard Magazine profiled alumnus Teny Gross and Senior Streetworker David Cartagena in their January-February 2009 issue. Click here to view/download the PDF.

Taking It to the Streets
Teny Gross teaches kids nonviolence.

by Nell Porter Brown

David C. grew up in Providence, Rhode Island. With no father around and a drug-addicted mother, he  moved through foster homes, gathering a fragile sense of worth from a gang of friends. “All I aspired to was being important on the street,” he says. “There was nothing about a future.” He spent five years in juvenile detention and a few in prison, and still has a reputation among local cops for living up to his nickname, “Devious,” for once escaping through the police-station roof.

At 37, he is still hanging out with the kids—in the schools, at their homes, the hospital, or the mall. But as a street worker with the city’s Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence, he now prevents the very violence he once provoked.