Murder Is No Accident : Understanding and Preventing Youth Violence in America

Authors Deborah Prothrow-Stith and Howard R. Spivak-- two prominent Boston-area public health officials who played leading roles in that city's turnaround-- show that the key to Boston's success was creating an interdisciplinary citywide movement.

The city's movement-- made up of educators, community leaders, police officers, emergency room workers, activist teens, teen and family member survivors of violence, and many others-- worked for more than ten years to implement multifaceted preventive programs that confronted each risk factor for youth violence, including Positive Role Models: Peer mentoring and teacher-training programs Healthy and Safe Communities: Youth centers, after-school programs, and other organized recreational activities Poverty: Economic stimulus policies to help reduce poverty in inner-city and rural areas Pro-Social Behaviors: Conflict resolution and violence prevention curricula in schools Domestic Violence: Home visitation programs and screening to protect kids from domestic violence Gun Buybacks: Reduction in the number of firearms on the streets