We must Witness GREATNESS
To CTVIP staff, this motto is their passion, and they work tirelessly to help the youth
of Greater New Haven succeed so their greatness can be recognized.
From the desk of Len Jahad
Greetings and welcome to Connecticut Violence Intervention Program Inc. CTVIP currently serves youth that are engaged in the riskiest activity in the greater New Haven community. By risky, we allude to youth engaged or at risk of engaging in community violence such as gang involvement, shooting, truancy, or disengagement. We are contracted to work with youth ages 13-24; those in the public school system, those returning from detention/correction and victims of community violence.
Our core program, the Violence Prevention Professional program currently receives referrals from local, state, and Federal authorities to engage the highest risk youth. We interrupt violence of the highest risk youth through prevention of retaliation, mediating conflicts and keeping conflicts “cool.” We address the needs of the highest-risk youth through assessment of their most risky thoughts and behaviors, changing of their behaviors and values, and referrals. We change community norms by responding immediately to shootings, organizing community partners to provide support and services, and spreading positive social norms, which promote and model prosocial behaviors.
To address this risky population, it is paramount that we build and sustain relationships with our participants. This group has experienced untreated trauma along with neglect and abandonment from trusted adults, which increases their anger and unwillingness to engage in establishment. At minimum it takes youth six months to build a relationship with their VPPs and begin the trust process of completing an effective assessment, with subsequent referrals to address their individual needs and reduce their risk to participate in violent behavior. Our continued consistency with participants has created a safe therapeutic environment for participants to maximize our program benefits.
CTVIP is currently undergoing a name change from Connecticut Violence Intervention Program to Connecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention to reflect our evolution from a singular program to a multidimensional agency that highlights our prevention goals.
Our goal is to change community norms around the use of guns to settle conflict without violence. None of this work occurs overnight; it takes years of engagement to change the thinking of our participants from law breaking to law abiding.
Regards,
Leonard Jahad
Executive Director
CTVIP is a group of trusted, trained community members that disrupt, prevent and stop the spread of violence which results in trauma through crisis intervention and proactive relationships with the highest-risk youths and the institutions that impact their lives.
OURMISSION
CTVIP works to create safe community for our most vulnerable.
OURVISION
Violence prevention professionals (VPPs) and violence intervention professionals (VIPs) are trained mentors and lived experience experts that work with the youth on their caseload, their families, their school, and their community. These professionals are community members that are committed to making their own community a safer place for all individuals. They work individually and as a team to prevent conflict, neighborhood shootings, and homicide.
Meet the CTVIP Team
Describe the team member here. Write a brief description of their role and responsibilities, or a short bio with a background summary.
Kwamaine McCarter
Violence Prevention Professonal (VPP)
"I wanted to join the team so I can give back to the community and give my players kids and kids of the community good mentors to look up to."
Amir "Dermy" Mack
Violence Prevention Professonal
(VPP)
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across water to create many ripples” -Mother Teresa"
Frank Redente, Jr.
Violence Intervention Professional
(VIP)
Describe the team member here. Write a brief description of their role and responsibilities, or a short bio with a background summary.
Kebra Smith Bolden
Violence Intervention Professional
(VIP)
I believe this work is my calling in life, so with me believe that I want to do my very best at CTVIP For the community and its youth.
William "JB" Outlwaw
Lead Violence Prevention Professonal (LVPP)
I joined CTVIP because it’s my calling to save our children's lives. This work is my passion.
Tyrone "Tiger" Whitaker
Violence Prevention Professional
(VPP)
"Since i was released from prison in 2011, I wanted to do something to give back to my community, a community that I felt, I had a hand in bringing it down. I’ve been doing it for 17 years, message to the Black man. Who will rise up for me against the workers of iniquity."
Omar Ryan
Violence Prevention Professonal
(VPP)
Describe the team member here. Write a brief description of their role and responsibilities, or a short bio with a background summary.
Anita "Tweet" Morales
Violence Prevention Professonal
(VPP)
"I wanted to be apart of CTVIP because I admire all that this organization does for the youth in the community. Being born and raised in New Haven, I just wanted to be apart of the movement and assist in any way possible."
Teryn Jasmin
Operations Manager
"I wanted to join CTVIP because I love the mission and work we do. The process of disrupting, preventing and stopping the spread of violence allows all to connect to the New Haven community as a close level by reaching our youth. "
Alivia Langley
Program Manager
10 years ago I started my career as an intern working in a violence prevention program, it’s an honor to be working at CTVIP, alongside several of the same guys who inspired me to do violence prevention work way back then.
Mary Hall
Program Coordinator
Describe the team member here. Write a brief description of their role and responsibilities, or a short bio with a background summary.
Erika Blake
Program Coordinator
The CTVIP Method
CTVIP is a one-stop shop for at-risk youth and generally at-risk victims of violence throughout the New Haven region. We have the skills to facilitate education, employment, connection to mental health resources and assistance in law enforcement/court system involvement. These connections and personal experiences make CTVIP a strong and unique organization that are on the frontlines with community members.
CTVIP is a non-profit organization in New Haven that serves its surrounding communities. The organization is contracted to work with youth and young adults who are impacted by or involved with violence and the justice system.
Our program is based on a mix of different evidence-based models from across the country that focus on interrupting violence through a trauma informed lens. Violence is an epidemic and at CTVIP we treat it as a system issue.
CTVIP works with community partners, and local and state politicians to decrease violence within our communities.