21st National Health Equity Research Webcast
Advancing a Community-Based Model for Violence Prevention
Overview
In 2015 the webcast explored a critical aspect of violence prevention – community-led action. Our speakers represented a broad diversity of perspectives and experiences on this topic. The broadcast featured three short presentations followed by an extended question-and-answer session with the studio and remote audiences.
View the 2015 Archived Webcast
Pamela Jumper Thurman, PhD (Cherokee) is a Senior Research Scientist at Colorado State University and the Director of the National Center for Community Readiness with expertise in HIV/AIDS, Substance Use, Violence Prevention, Community Based Participatory Research, and Cultural Issues. She is a co-developer and co-author of the Community Readiness Model and has applied the model in over 3,000 communities throughout the U.S. as well as over 41 communities internationally. She has worked with cultural issues utilizing community participatory research, prevention of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse, methamphetamine treatment and prevention, prevention of violence and victimization, rural women’s concerns, HIV/AIDS and solvent abuse. She currently serves or has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator for 18 federally funded grants that examine community/grassroots prevention of intimate partner violence, state wide initiatives to prevent methamphetamine use, epidemiology of American Indian substance use, prevention of HIV/AIDS and epidemiology and prevention of solvent use among youth. She is the project director of a CDC funded effort to provide capacity building assistance aimed at community mobilization for HIV/AIDS prevention in ethnic communities throughout the United States.
Frank Perez serves as the National Program Director for Cure Violence, an anti-violence program that reduces gun crime. Perez oversees the implementation of the Cure Violence model in national sites including Baltimore, Kansas City, Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Newark, and also works with new communities interested in implementing the model. Formerly known as CeaseFire Inc., Cure Violence approaches street violence with a unique strategy, employing community outreach workers and violence interrupters from the most dangerous areas of a city to intercede in potentially-violent situations and counsel at-risk individuals. This “boots on the ground” strategy is a method associated with disease control and it is Cure Violence’s position that, similar to an infectious disease, gun violence is a public health issue that can be reduced by changing behavioral norms using disease control methods. Perez has worked in crisis/violence intervention programs for over 25 years and has a masters degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago. Previous to Cure Violence, Mr. Perez worked on the Crisis Reduction Intervention Services Program (CRISP), the Little Village Project, and the Comprehensive National Youth Gang Model.
Leon T Andrews Jr. was recently appointed as the director for Race, Equity And Leadership (REAL) at the National League of Cities and prior served as the senior fellow and program director at the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, where he led all of the Institute’s youth development work with mayors and other municipal leaders around the country including in areas related to childhood obesity, disconnected youth, youth engagement and leadership, and youth master planning since 2006. Before joining the National League of Cities, Leon completed a research fellowship at The Forum for Youth Investment. Leon has an extensive background working in government, the community, the private sector, and academia for the last 20 years including the United States Department of Justice, United States Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, the United States Public Interest Research Group, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, YouthBuild Pittsburgh, the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Political Science at Eastern Michigan University. He is a published author, a presenter at a number of conferences and other forums throughout the country, and serves on a number of national and local boards. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Howard University, a Master of Science in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, and is a PhD candidate in the Urban and Regional Planning program at The University of Michigan. Leon is married to an amazing woman, Dr. Kristine M. Andrews, for the last 12 years and they have three beautiful daughters – Jessica Austin, Julia Iris, and Joanna Jonas.
Moderator – Nia Wilson, Executive Director of SpiritHouse moderated for 2015. Nancy “Mama Nia” Wilson has been a part of the SpiritHouse family since 2002. Mama Nia originally hails from Norwalk Ct., where she has acquired over twenty years of direct care client services, ranging from early childhood education to mentally handicapped adults. She is a practical nurse who has specialized in pediatric and psychiatric nursing, but found a much stronger calling working with teens and their families in drop- out, drug and pregnancy prevention. Mama Nia is a mother, poet, performer, and storyteller, whose works with fellow artists, organizers, encourages community members to assess, express, and address their own needs.
Frank Perez (Abstract of Presentation)
- Violence being no longer viewed a criminal justice issue but rather a health one with solutions
- Reasoning behind this paradigm shift is because violence mimics other contagious diseases
- How human behavior contributes to this epidemic
- What can be done to stop violence and eradicate it at its sources
- Cure Violence methods
- Validation of the model by solid data and research from trusted leading national and international organizations
View the presentation here.
Leon T Andrews (Abstract of Presentation)
- Data (Homicide) shows disproportionate impact on black males across cities in the US
- An initiative that brings together city mayors, community leaders, youth and local stakeholders will have more impact than policing
- Learnings from the Cities United and Leaders Initiative
- Examine implicit and explicit bias in our individual lives, communities, policies, systems and structures
- Discussing REAL: Race, Equity and Leadership
View the presentation here.
Pamela Jumper Thurman (Abstract of Presentation)
- Negative health consequences in the Native community and other communities of color related to IPV are well established and are a challenge to health providers.
- Statistics document that 1 in 3 Native women experience physical and sexual violence. Few resources are available to these communities and jurisdictional issues can be challenging.
- Each community is different, different histories, different resources, and the cultures vary. What works in one community may not work in other communities. In fact, a best practice in one community is not a best practice for all communities.
- Community Readiness, developed at Colorado State University, takes these factors into consideration and utilizes the existing resources within a community, the strength of the culture within the community, and the readiness of a community to engage and mobilize to build stronger and more effective efforts in both research and service to create a sustainable and community supported model for change.
View the presentation here.
The National Health Equity Research Webcast is an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort that builds on the expertise and support of UNC campus partners, community agencies, researchers and practitioners in health and education fields. The webcast appeals to organizations and individuals in North Carolina and across the nation with a focus on health equity, educational achievement and economic stabilization in all areas within our society. Our partners and donors for 2015 are listed below.
Co-Sponsor ($5,000 – $9,999) |
Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, UNC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, UNC |
Supporter($1,000 – $2,499) |
Student Wellness Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, Wake Forest University Carolina Higher Education Opportunity Programs |
Special Friend ($500 – $999) |
Center for Health Equity Research, UNC Giselle Corbie-Smith, MD, MSc. Director and Professor of Social Medicine and Medicine, School of Medicine |
Friend($100 – $499) |
Gillings Global Gateway, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health School of Information and Library Science, UNC Department of Biostatistics, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention |
In-Kind Contributors |
School of Social Work, UNC |
Endorsements and Partners |
North Carolina Health Career Access Program, UNC Medical Education Development (MED) Program |
The 21st National Health Equity Research Webcast is presented by
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Minority Heath Project
UNC Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
Broadcast Co-Directors
Marco J. Barker, Ph.D., Senior Director for Education, Operations, and Initiatives, DMA, UNC
Victor J. Schoenbach, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC
Broadcast Coordinators
Sharbari Dey, M.S.W. Assistant Director, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, UNC
Trinnette Cooper, M.P.H. Coordinator for Diversity Programs and Recruitment; Office of Student Affairs, Gillings School of Public Health, UNC
Program Coordinators
DeVetta Holman Nash, Ph.D. Assistant Director, Student Wellness; Coordinator of Student Development & Academic Success, UNC
Stephanie Baker-White, Ph.D. Assistant Professor & Associate Director of Graduate Programs at UNC Greensboro Department of Public Health Education
Planning Committee
Danny Bell, American Indian Studies Program, American Studies Department, College of Arts and Sciences, UNC
Allison De Marco, M.S.W., Ph.D., Investigator; Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, UNC
William C. (“Bill”) Jenkins, M.S., Ph.D., Co-Director, Minority Health Project, UNC
Melissa Green., M.P.H., Administrative Director for NC TraCS CARES, UNC
Sharon Holmes Thomas., M.P.H., Assistant Dean for Recruitment, Admissions and Financial Aid and Clinical Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, UNC
O.J. McGhee, Manager, Instructional Media Services, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Technical Production Team
Video production Producer / Director: O.J. McGhee, Manager, SPH IIS Instructional Media Services
Moderator: Nia Wilson, Executive Director, SpiritHouse, Durham NC
Q and A Moderator: Rhonda Taylor Bullock, Graduate Student , School of Education, UNC
Production Assistants: Charity Sneed Watkins, Graduate Student , School of Social Work, UNC; Andre Brown, Graduate Student , School of Public Health, UNC; Leslie Adams Graduate Student , School of Public Health, UNC
Photographer: Margaret Bayley, Graduate Student , Department of Allied Health, UNC
Live Video Stream Services: ScherShot Productions
Marketing and Communications
Additional Credits Publicity and Program design: Aileen Ma, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
Program Assistant: Katherine Max, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs
SPH Department of Instructional and Information Systems: Kathleen D. Barboriak, PhD, Assistant Dean
Instructional Media Services: O. J. McGhee, Manager
Site facilitators and technical coordinators in group viewing sites
Special Thanks
Department of Epidemiology: fiscal office, information technology, and secretarial staff