The Alliance for Peace: For a New Loíza (Alianza) aims to reduce violence incidents in Loíza and provide educational and employment alternatives that allow young people to guide their human development. The alliance is comprised of the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (FCPR), the Municipality of Loíza, Nuestra Escuela, and Taller Salud.
The initiative benefits young people between 15 and 30 years old who reside in the neighborhoods of Pueblo, Medianía Baja, and Medianía Alta in Loíza—neighborhoods where personal and family disputes have occurred, limiting some of these young people's ability to leave their surroundings for fear of risking their safety. The Alliance's objectives are:
- Reduce participants' contact with the justice system
- Increase the number of young people with a high school diploma.
- Increase the number of young people involved in legal income-generating activities
The organization Taller Salud is the first point of contact that young people have with the Alliance. Using the evidence-based “Cure Violence” model, the organization assigns a “Community Outreach” worker to provide individualized mentoring and support to each of the over 30 young participants in the program. The Community Outreach staff are residents of the community whose backgrounds include their own experiences with acts of violence in Loíza. Simultaneously, the entity has a team of “Violence Interrupters.” The primary function of this staff is to mediate interpersonal and community conflicts to prevent them from escalating into acts of violence.
Vision | A Loíza of peace and unity where youth has a love for life and alternatives to achieve their dreams.
Mission | To link efforts and channel resources that inspire Loiceña youth to develop a culture of peace.
Values | Respect. Justice. Commitment.
Young participants who do not have a high school diploma are referred to the "Nuestra Escuela" program in the community. "Nuestra Escuela" is an alternative education project that values and empowers its students in the process of personal development and contributing to a better country. Through teachers who adapt this educational model to the community, referred youth can complete their degree in a period of 3 months to a year and a half.
At least 40 young people who already have their diploma or plan to complete it during the program will participate in work experiences identified in collaboration with community associations, local businesses, and the Municipality of Loíza. Some examples of work development projects include: beautification brigades, public infrastructure, or the coordination of recreational activities in Loíza communities.
In this Alliance, the Puerto Rico Community Foundation provides leadership and coordination, while also identifying and allocating resources that complement the funds received from the Obama Foundation through its My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Challenge 2018.
VERSIÓN EN CASTELLANO
Alliance for Peace: For a New Loíza
The Alliance for Peace: For a New Loíza (Alliance) aims to reduce violent incidents in Loíza and provide educational and employment alternatives that foster youth human development. The alliance comprises the Puerto Rico Community Foundation (FCPR), the Municipality of Loíza, Nuestra Escuela, and Taller Salud.
The initiative benefits young people aged 15 to 30 who live in the Pueblo, Medianía Baja, and Medianía Alta neighborhoods of Loíza – neighborhoods where past personal and/or family disputes limit youth's ability to move freely due to potential security risks. The Alliance's objectives are:
• Reduce the number of times participants interact with the justice system
• Increase the number of young people with High School Certificates
• Increase the number of young people involved in legal income-generating activities
Taller Salud is the first point of contact young people have with the Alliance. Following the evidence-based “Cure Violence” model, the organization assigns a Community Outreach Worker to provide individualized mentoring and support to each of the over 30 young participants in the program. Community Outreach Workers are residents of the community, whose backgrounds include their own experiences with violence in Loíza. Simultaneously, the organization also has a team of Violence Interrupters. The primary function of this personnel is mediating interpersonal and community conflicts to prevent them from escalating into acts of violence.
Vision | A peaceful and unified Loíza where young people have a love for life and opportunities to achieve their dreams.
Mission | To weave efforts and channel resources to enthuse the youth of Loíza to develop a culture of peace.
Values | Respect. Justice. Commitment.
Youth participants who do not have a high school diploma are referred to the Nuestra Escuela in the Community Program. Nuestra Escuela is an alternative education project that values and empowers its students in their personal development process as positive social contributors. Through teachers who adapt this educational model to the community, referred youth can complete their high school degree within a period that varies between 3 months and a year and a half.
At least 40 young people who already have their High School diploma or plan to complete it during the program will participate in community workforce development projects identified in collaboration with local businesses, community associations, and the Municipality of Loíza. Some examples of potential projects include: community beautification brigades, public infrastructure projects, and/or the coordination of community recreational activities.
In this Alliance, Fundación Comunitaria de Puerto Rico provides leadership and coordination, while also identifying and assigning resources to complement funding granted by the Obama Foundation’s My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Challenge 2018 initiative.