UofL kicks off youth violence prevention campaign

UofL’s Youth Violence Prevention Research Center (YVPRC), an entity of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, kicked off a three-year social norming campaign aimed at reducing youth violence in Louisville by practicing Pride, Peace, Prevention.

SPHIS received a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2015 to establish a Youth Violence Prevention Research Center, led by Monica Wendel, DrPH, MA, associate dean for public health practice.

Through this center, eight youth fellows were hired to help create and test the media/social media campaign aimed at reducing violence by opposing the perception that violence is normal, accepted and expected, particularly among African American youth. The campaign aims to combat violence by making youth aware of their own pride and history. It also seeks to foster community dialogue around difficult issues such as racial and social injustices. In doing so, the YVPRC hopes to raise critical consciousness in an effort to promote racial justice and reduce youth violence.

The media campaign features the youth fellows in YouTube videos, television commercials, radio ads, neighborhood billboards, bus shelters, print ads, the campaign website, and social media platforms using #YVPRC. This particular media effort concludes at the end of December 2017; the overall Pride, Peace, Prevention campaign continues through spring 2020.

Check out more photos from the campaign kick-off held at the Louisville Central Community Centers on Saturday, May 20.