WITNESS GREATNESS.
This motto is the passion of CTVIP staff.
We work tirelessly to help Greater New Haven youth
succeed so their community recognizes their potential.
From the desk of Len Jahad
Greetings, and welcome to Connecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention Inc. (CTVIP). CTVIP currently serves youth who are engaged in the riskiest activity in the greater New Haven community. By risky, we allude to youth engaged in or at risk of engaging in community violence such as gang/group 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 (VPP) Program currently receives referrals from local, state, and federal authorities to engage the highest risk youth. We interrupt violence among the highest-risk youth through prevention of retaliation, mediating conflicts, and keeping conflicts “cool.” We address the needs of the highest-risk youth by assessing their most risky thoughts and behaviors, changing their behaviors and values, and making subsequent community referrals. We change community norms by responding immediately to incidents of community violence, collaborating with community partners to provide support and services, and spreading the message that conflict can be resolved without violence.
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 a credible messenger to begin the trust process of completing an effective assessment, with subsequent referrals to address their individual needs and reduce their risk of participating in violent behavior. Our continued consistency with participants has created a safe therapeutic environment for participants to maximize our program benefits.
CTVIP has evolved from a single VPP Program to several programs: Juvenile Review Board, MakeHerSpace, and MakeHisSpace, to address the vast needs of our juvenile justice-involved youth population. We also enter Manson Youth Institution and Cheshire Maximum Security Prison to run Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Skills of Socialization (SOS) programs, evolving into 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 our participants' thinking from law-breaking to law-abiding.
Continued blessings,
Leonard Jahad
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Connecticut Violence Intervention and Prevention
OUR MISSION
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.
CTVIP believes that vulnerable communities deserve to be safe from gun violence.
OUR VISION
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.