Gary Slutkin Receives Volvo For Life AwardCongratulations to Dr. Gary Slutkin who received the Volvo for Life Award in the safety category at an awards ceremony in New York City this past April.
The release announcing the award noted, "Dr. Gary Slutkin has designed, tested, and begun implementing a successful and well-documented new approach to reducing violence: CeaseFire...
"CeaseFire focuses on groups at risk (marginalized neighborhood youth, gangs, etc.), drawing upon youths once involved in violence and training them to transform those who are still involved. At the same time, the program has the vital component of drawing upon the local community to help provide localized responses to every single shooting or other act of violence that occurs. This involves bringing in local institutions, such as churches, respected neighborhood individuals, neighborhood associations, all joined in a combined public education and clergy outreach to help further reinforce and guide a transformation in behavior. The results have proved astounding.
"In the areas in which Dr. Slutkin’s program has taken hold, violence has fallen to the lowest levels recorded in over forty years. The statistics give further evidence of the dramatic transformation: a 45% drop in shootings in Chicago communities. In the second most violent police beat in the city: a 67% drop in shootings within the first year of implementation. Since these first results were obtained: six other communities in and out of Chicago have witnessed a 45% drop in shootings. Reductions in levels of violence are even greater after two to five years after the program’s implementation: up to a 75% drop in shootings."
The award includes a $50,000 contribution from Volvo to the charity of the award recipient’s choice.
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