For Release: July 13, 2006
Contact: J. Tucker Martin or David Clementson
Email: jtmartin@oag.state.va.us or dclementson@oag.state.va.us
Phone: 804-786-2071
McDonnell and Wilder Join Together to Open GRIP One-Stop Office in Richmond
--Office is “Front Door” to GRIP Resources--
Richmond - Attorney General Bob McDonnell and Richmond Mayor L. Douglas Wilder joined together today to open the new One-Stop Office of the Gang Reduction and Intervention Program (GRIP) in Richmond. The One-Stop Office will help residents living in the GRIP target area to find and utilize the many programs offered through GRIP. In many ways the Office will serve as the “front-door” to the resources offered through GRIP.
Speaking about the opening of the One-Stop Office Attorney General McDonnell remarked, “GRIP is making a difference in Richmond. In the targeted area we are witnessing a tremendous decline in certain crimes, and renewed hope for the children of these communities. Now, we must build on this early success.”
McDonnell continued, “That is why the One-Stop office is so important. The great programs offered through GRIP will ultimately have no impact if citizens are not aware of them. With the opening of this government office, residents of the targeted GRIP area will now know where to find the resources they need. By giving GRIP a physical location, we are helping the residents of the targeted area take back their communities from criminals, and make a better life for themselves in Virginia’s capital city.”
Mayor Wilder noted, “Today’s opening of the local GRIP office gives the community a tremendous opportunity to assist those young people who want to pull away from being part of a gang, as well as those residents who want to put an end to the crime brought about as a result of gang activity.”
The Mayor further stated, “With the assistance of our state and federal partners, this City is determined to put an end to gang activity,” he said, “and we are calling for the proactive cooperation of the community to join us in making this happen.”
About the One-Stop Resource Office
The City of Richmond has established and operates a One-Stop Resource Office to serve as the primary hub for service delivery referrals and program marketing in support of the GRIP program. The primary function of the One-Stop Office is to provide coordinated access to services offered by private and public sources for the families of at-risk and/or high-risk youth within the targeted area. The goal is to identify at-risk youth before they become involved in gang activity and link the youth and family to services to strengthen the family unit and/or refer youth to recreational options that will lessen the attractiveness of the gang activity. Further, the One-Stop Resource Office works to promote community information and education, citizen participation and other initiatives that meet the needs of the culturally diverse citizens in the target area.
The One Stop Office’s target population is at-risk and/or high-risk youth and their families who reside within the boundaries of the 212 and 213 police beats in the City of Richmond’s South Side. The One-Stop Resource Office is located in the Southside Community Service Building which is centrally located and easily accessible at 4100 Hull Street near the intersection of Belt Boulevard and Hull Street.
The One-Stop Resource Office connects with the targeted population through a variety of community sources, including the City’s Hispanic Liaison Office, the community’s civic associations, faith-based organizations, school administration, local businesses, and service organizations. These organizations are encouraged to make referrals of families with at-risk youth. In addition, the targeted families are directly marketed through methods such as public service announcements, advertisements on local media, and brochures.
Families complete forms that will allow the One-Stop Resource Office to track the progress of the target family and the at-risk youth. Follow-up with the GRIP providers will be critical to ensure that families are progressing. The One-Stop Resource Office will maintain contact with service providers to determine whether appointments are being kept as scheduled and whether service delivery is having an impact on family stabilization and youth gang involvement. If preventative programming does not deter the youth from becoming involved in gang activity, the One-Stop office will make referrals to intervention and suppression programs for a more aggressive approach. All results will be compiled in the tracking systems and used to determine which programming was most effective and where additional gaps may still exist in service.
GRIP Programs
GRIP Results
The Richmond Police Department reported that directed patrol in the target area during the funding period resulted in:
About GRIP
The Richmond Gang Reduction and Intervention Program (“GRIP”) is funded through a grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the Department of Justice in the amount of $2.5 million dollars. The program, which began in 2004 and runs through 2007, is administered by the Office of Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell. GRIP is a collaborative effort between the City of Richmond, federal, state and local partners.The purpose of GRIP is to combat gangs and provide children with healthy alternatives to gang involvement by reducing gang crime and violence in the targeted area through integrated application of proven practices in primary and secondary prevention, intervention, suppression, and re-entry. The plan incorporates a broad spectrum of proven, research-based interventions designed to address the full range of personal, family, and community factors that contribute to high levels of juvenile delinquency and gang activity. Four pilot sites were chosen for the program. Those sites are: Richmond, VA; Milwaukee, WI; Los Angeles, CA; and North Miami Beach, FL.
