New York’s Buffalo Public Schools is partnering with law agencies to form a high-risk youth team that will establish intervention programs for teens impacted by gun violence.

Buffalo officials call the team a one-of-a-kind partnership because the focus is on students who are victims of gun violence, with most of the students in the program having suffered from gun wounds themselves.

The initiative was created by the Erie County District Attorney’s Office in an effort to provide trauma counseling, education, and social service supports to victims of gun violence. The Buffalo Police Department is also a partner in the program. 

At a news conference announcing the program last month, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn noted that 40 percent of children who live in urban areas are witness to a shooting and that 75 percent of children who experience gun violence have additional mental health, sleep, or anxiety disorders.

Flynn said the idea is to develop a comprehensive plan “that links them to trauma-informed counseling, mentorship, job placement, educational assistance, linkages with pro-social activities,” according to the Buffalo News.  

In an interview with the Urban Educator, Tonja Williams, chief of student support services for the Buffalo school system and the district’s point person on this initiative, noted that most gun violence victims have not had good interactions with law enforcement or the criminal justice system. “The interaction with these agencies for some of our students impacted by gun violence hasn’t been very positive in the past,” said Williams. “So, this is a way for these agencies to interact with the students in a different capacity that is non-punitive.”

The high-risk youth team is also partnering with the Erie County Medical Center as well as an anti-violence community group called SNUG (acronym for Should Never Use Guns), which uses outreach workers to work with high-risk youth. The grassroots component is vital because many members of SNUG have had interactions with law enforcement in the past and live in the same communities as students, so they are viewed as credible messengers.  

The program started last month with 10 students – eight boys and two girls – ranging in age from 12 to 17.

Now, when a shooting of a student occurs, the emergency trauma unit at the Erie County Medical Center will contact a person in the high-risk youth team who will come to the hospital and explain the program to the student and their guardian.

Students who are alleged to have committed a non-violent, low-level crime are introduced to the program when they go to court.

The members of the team get together weekly and create an individualized plan for each student. While Williams would love to include more students in the program, the team has decided to currently focus on only 10 students because the level of services and supports they need is so high.

“Some of the students are very entrenched in gang violence at an early age, some as young as 12,” said Williams. “What we're trying to do is to prevent future shootings and explain to them that this is an opportunity for them to get mental and restorative supports and to get them back on track.”

Participants in the program are provided with mentors who utilize conflict resolution and restorative justice practices. The older students receive assistance in finding jobs and all students are provided with educational assistance.

Williams recalled how one student was afraid to go to school because of threats from gang members. To enhance his safety, the district transferred him to another school.
Another student’s home had been hit with gunfire three times so the district opted to provide the student with remote learning at a family member’s house.

Williams has met with the principals of students in the program to make them aware that students are receiving supports. Principals also are being encouraged to refrain from suspensions in instances of negative behavior and find alternative disciplinary approaches to keep students in the program in school.

The team also works with student’s family members, engaging them in conversations about issues impacting their child and connecting them with community resources, such as housing agencies or social workers.

District officials say they are finding that the level of trauma many of the students are experiencing is intergenerational.

“It’s not just the students that are involved, but they have dads, uncles, and even grandfathers who have been involved in gun violence and in gangs,” said Williams. “We are trying to break the generational cycle with this program.”

District officials plan to evaluate the effectiveness of the program using qualitative data, including reviewing school attendance and suspension rates for participating students.

The program has the full support of Buffalo Schools Superintendent Kriner Cash and has not cost the district anything to implement because the district has relied on its partners.  If the pilot initiative is successful, the Buffalo Public Schools will expand and invest in the program, Cash said. 

At the end of the school year, a youth conference will be held, and Williams hopes students in the program will be able to recruit others by sharing their experiences, including how the program has perhaps saved their lives.

And what advice would she give to other urban school districts who want to replicate the program?

According to Williams, the high-risk youth teams require a significant outlay of resources and collaboration but that such partnerships are needed to begin to solve the gun violence plaguing communities across the nation.

“It's going to take a community to really wrap their arms around this issue and really decide that they don’t want to lose any more children to gun violence,” said Williams. “So, I would really encourage districts to look at the issue holistically and try to meet the mental health and trauma needs of their students by partnering with other agencies and developing a team similar to this. It’s going to take more than the school district."