Urban violence: causes, impacts, and community responses

¶ … urban violence as it relates to a significant family stressor. The author examines the causes of violence as related to family stressors and applies a program to it to affect change. There were five sources used to complete this paper.

The problem with urban violent is not just a problem for those who are involved. The occurrence of urban violence impacts the local business, schools, and families of those who are near the area. When urban violence begins to appear several things begin to happen. Businesses are affected because the consumer does not want to go into the area to shop. This causes economic problems for the businesses and they close down. Once they close down this means a loss of jobs, which can contribute to the poverty level that has been documented as a contributing factor to urban violence. It is a vicious circle that perpetuates itself. The schools become havens for gang members and bullies which creates a stressful situation for the students and teachers. Survival and avoidance of violence become more important than education which can lead to drop outs. This too perpetuates the poverty level in the local areas. Urban violence has a ripple affect on the community around it. Statistically those who commit urban violence come from poverty stricken families. One of the ways to combat urban violence is to implement a program that focuses on helping the family unit get out of poverty.

THE PROGRAM

This program will address many aspects of family stressors that are induced by poverty and can lead to urban violence. The family unit is seen as a whole and the family stressors are addressed individually to insure each member can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Whether the family has teenagers, adults or children in the program their needs and future will be addressed. (Grand, 2003)

One of the first things that the program will deal with is the mutual attitude problems in the urban areas. The police say that people approach them as if they are the enemy simply because they are in uniform, while the people in the area allege the police treat them all as if they are drug dealers.

The program will hold neighborhood coffees once a month so that the police officers and those who live in the area can get to know each other before there is a need for communication. This will help reduce the barriers that exist between the two.

The second thing the program will address is education. Statistically those who commit urban violence come from families of poverty. One of the most positive ways to rise above the poverty line is education. The program will emphasize education. Education of each family member will be individually assessed and the needs determined. The program will locate appropriate schools or alternatives for each family member so that the family unit as a whole can begin to work toward a better future. The family will be required to participate as a unit so that the members can encourage each other in the quest for improvement of their current financial situation. (Lerner, 1998) "Poverty is also related to disease and undernutrition, civil disturbances, and urban violence. In such a context, many youths, particularly poor youths, are left to "chart their own course" or, much worse, to pick a route from among the often confusing signals put out by the family, peer group, school, and work place (Ianni 1989). With problematic demographic trends, deteriorating local and national economies, and intractably high levels of poverty (both rural and urban), Wilson (1987) has suggested that we are in a self-sustaining chain reaction, one that contributes to a marked increase in levels of crime, addiction, and welfare dependency. These phenomena, unfortunately, are especially brought to our attention by rates of adolescent juvenile delinquency."

The above statistics serve to underscore the importance of education and goal setting. This program will provide educational pathways for each family member who is three years old or more. The preschool, elementary school and middle schools will be contacted to provide communication and feed back about how the student is doing and progressing. In addition the program will provide after school tutoring sessions to assist students in the family in getting caught up. The parents will also have an educational path. If the parents wish to participate they will be offered programs that will allow them gain employment skills or improve on the skills they already have in place.

The structure of the family is also changing in ways that have placed poor youth and parents at greater risk of problems of family life and individual development. For instance, during the 1980s, there was a 13% increase:in the number of youth living in single-parent families, a trend present in 44 states. Thus, during the 1987-1991 period, 18, 30, and 57% of European-American, Latino, and African-American children, respectively, lived in single-parent households (Center for the Study of Social Policy 1992). Overall, approximately 25% of youth in the United States live in single-parent (and, typically, female-headed) families, and poverty rates among female-headed, single-parent or male-headed, single-parent families are much higher (47 and 23%, respectively) than among two-parent families (9%) (Center for the Study of Social Policy 1993, Hernandez 1993). The poverty rates in single-parent households were, by the beginning of the 1990s, 30% for European-American families, 51% for African-American families, and 53% for Latino families (U.S. Department of Commerce 1991). The fact that increasing numbers of youth live in these family structures means that the financial resources to support parenting are less likely to be available."

The next thing the program will address is the single parent aspect of urban violence. Single parent families are stressed for many reasons. One parent has to handle all the child raising responsibilities, the finances are often extremely tight, and teenagers in single parent homes are often more rebellious than in dual parent settings. The program while addressing the educational needs of each family member will also address the counseling and parenting needs. The program will offer parenting classes free of charge to those who live in the local area. The classes will deal with setting limits, encouraging goals and locating resources for assistance when needed. This program believes that education combined with healthy parenting will interrupt the cycle of family stressors that contribute to the incidence of urban violence in America.

Moreover, in homes where there is an absence of a father, a strong mother-adolescent relation can protect youth from risks (e.g. Of having a peer group engaged in problem behaviors) and, in turn, constitutes a source of resiliency and positive development among poor, minority youth." To this end the program will provide babysitting services for younger siblings once a month to allow single mothers to spend time with their adolescents without the distractions that younger siblings can provide.