Project BRAVE

Project BRAVE (Building and Revitalizing an Anti-Violence Environment) was designed to reduce teen violence in three New Orleans neighborhoods that were marked with high rates of violence and poverty. The project viewed violence as a community-level problem. Instead of focusing on individual behavior change, Project BRAVE partnered with community, school and church organizations to focus on conditions in the social and physical environment that foster violence.

Teens from this neighborhood worked with a faculty member to identify root causes of violence and bring together community members and leaders to address these causes. For example, participants worked through a group exercise where they identify the important events leading to violent outcomes they have experienced. Then the students broke down the events to understand the social determinants of the violent outcome and the physical environment where the violence took place. Students transform their stories of violence into living monologues, raps, and theater pieces into order to share them with their peers and the larger community.

To reduce violence among adolescents and young adults living in neighborhoods with high rates of poverty and violence in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Participation in a pilot class of Project BRAVE led to: an increase in youth self-perceptions as agents of change; positive relationships among students and teachers; reduction in violent behavior among participating youth; and identification of appropriate community-based strategies for youth violence prevention.