July 5, 2006 For Immediate Release
Contact:
PJ Fox, Operations Manager, Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence (491) 837-2308
Rhoades Alderson, Communications Director, City of Providence (401) 421-2489 ext. 226
MAYOR, CHIEF ESSERMAN, STREET WORKERS ASK EMPLOYERS TO PREVENT YOUTH VIOLENCE WITH SUMMER JOBS
Group calls for direct employment or sponsorship of the “Beloved Community” Summer Jobs Institute; praises Aramark for leadership
PROVIDENCE – Mayor David N. Cicilline, Police Chief Dean Esserman, Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence Executive Director Teny Gross, Aramark General Manager of Education for Providence Tony Malagrino and Providence youth called on the business community to help prevent youth violence this summer by providing summer jobs. The group encouraged employers to sponsor the “Beloved Community” Summer Jobs Institute aimed at curbing violence or to employ at-risk young people directly.
The “Beloved Community” Summer Jobs Institute places young people at local nonprofits and small businesses for 20 hours a week, and involves them in a nonviolence training program. Aramark was praised for its participation in the program and for its leadership in youth hiring. The company has sponsored fifteen young people to participate in the Jobs Institute this summer.
“Unfortunately, the summer often brings with it a rise in youth
violence and we must all do what we can to make summer fun and peaceful
for our young people,” said Mayor David N. Cicilline. “We are calling
on the business community to lend a hand by creating summer job
opportunities.”
Business wishing to participate in the “Beloved Community” Summer Jobs Institute were asked to contact the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence at (401) 785-2320. The program runs between July 7th and August 25th. Businesses were also told to contact the Institute if they were interested in reaching out to at-risk youth with direct summer employment.
“The link is clear. When kids are engaged in something productive, they stay away from violence,” said Dean Esserman, Providence Chief of Police.
“By simply providing a summer job opportunity, a business can play a
big role in violence prevention,” said Aramark General Manager of
Education for Providence Tony Malagrino.
“Sponsoring a job for a youth is the most direct way to answering the question: How can I help reduce violence this summer. It is a simple way to help youth turn dreams into reality, despair into hope,” said Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence Executive Director Teny Gross.
The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence is a 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week nonprofit located on the Southside of Providence. It is home to Providence Nonviolence Streetworkers, an outreach program, and the Nonviolence Training Program. It was founded in the summer of 2000, a particularly violent summer in Providence. Its mission is to teach and lead by example the steps and principles of nonviolence – to foster a community that addresses potentially violent situations with nonviolent solutions.
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