I. Current State

The state's juvenile crime rate has increased 62%, which is still below the national average.' The overall crime rate for Santa Cruz County (SCC) decreased by 12.7/o between '94 &'95; however violent crime was up by 2.4% over'94 .2

A severe social problem plaguing the Watsonville community is the drive-by shootings growing out of the violence of gang wars. The City of Watsonville, with its 33,000 inhabitants, is estimated to have nine gangs totaling 500 members, which is 60% Latino; the City of Santa Cruz with 51,000 inhabitants has approximately four gangs, representing 13% Latino demographics and includes Anglo and African American members. The Brown Berets have been active in mediating gang warfare.'

It has been estimated that children spend 900 hours per year in school and 1,200 - 1,800 hours per year in front of the TV, exposed to violence and questionable programming. Considering there has been an increase in juvenile murders each year nationany,4 it would seem obvious that what we see repeatedly, we accept and believe, and what we accept and believe, we create.

II. Desired State: Positive Opportunities & Meaningful Activities

Santa Cruz County is a safe community where a deep appreciation of diversity has replaced racial, ethnic and territorial strife - where citizens cooperate to work toward a sustainable future together. Youth develop self-esteem from meaningful activities at home, school, and in the community. Relationships with peers are based on positive motivations and respect for diversity. Students graduating are adequately prepared to take their place in the job market.

III. Goals for Year 2000: Measurable Positive Change

A. Reduce the crime rate by 10%.

B. Decrease rate of violent crimes by 5% in proportion to the juvenile population.

IV. What Has Been Done: Initiatives for Peace & Programs to Reduce Violence

A. Initiatives for Peace:

1. During the 1980's the City of Santa Cruz declared itself a "Nuclear-Free Zone," joining nearly 200 other nuclear free jurisdictions worldwide.
2. In August of 1995, The Resource Center for Nonviolence organized an anti-nuclear rally commemorating the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the largest public event of its kind in the U.S.
3. The City of Santa Cruz, The Resource Center for Nonviolence, and Veterans of Foreign Wars 'Bill Motto" Post 5888 dedicated 'Collateral Damage: The Reality of War," sculpture in memory of the civilian casualties of war. The Resource Center organized a gun turn-in, giving flowers in exchange for guns; 100 weapons were destroyed and incorporated into the base for the sculpture located near the Santa Cruz Town Clock.
4. The Christic Action Team sponsors the Peace and justice Calendar monthly in the Comic News.

B. Programs to Reduce Violence.

1. In the City of Santa Cruz, Barrios Unidos has been working for 20 years to offer counseling, educational courses, and leadership training for Latino youth. In 1995 they organized a three-day National Peace Summit in the City of Santa Cruz, where they formulated a national model to restrain youth violence - the "Cesar E. Chavez Peace Plan," which works with young Latinos, providing job training in computers, video production, counseling in job searches, cultural activities, and other supportive services to diminish the influence of peer antisocial behavior. Elements of the Peace Plan are incorporated in state legislation, being carried by Assemblyman, Fred Keeley. They established the Cesar E. Chavez School for Nonviolent Social Change.
2. The Brown Berets - an award winning group working in Watsonville to mitigate gang warfare and educate the public, including work on the annual Peace & Unity weekends and the Peace & Dignity Rm.
3. Defensa de Mujeres, provides domestic violence and crisis intervention & counseling. 4. Familia Center is a Latino Community Center offering varied social services.
4. Cabrillo College is home to 'Gang for Good,' which ACTION SCC Agenda 21 Social justice Committee helped to initiate along with Our House of Concern. The foundation of this project will provide new roles for students as consultants/program developers to involve youth in community service.
5. The County Probation Department has recently received a state grant of $750,000 to identify high risk juveniles. This three-year program, JUNTOS, provides educational assistance, counseling, conflict resolution, and family recreation activities.
6. Neighborhood Watch is working toward a safer environment and has begun to see results.
7. PeaceBuilders has expanded in Watsonville and has already reduced violence related problems. In Salinas there has been a 50% reduction in violence in the first year. PeaceBuilders is just one of many programs by Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, Inc., a non-profit agency to the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. Their programs fall into 6 categories: 1) School-Based Prevention, 2) Early Intervention, 3) Community-Based Prevention, 4) Gang Prevention & Intervention Services, 5) Treatment, & 6) First Offender Program.
8. The Resource Center for Nonviolence has been working at the local, national, and international level for more than two decades on promoting nonviolence as a force for personal transformation and social change. Activities have ranged from establishing a Civilian Police Review Board in the City of Santa Cruz, helping to establish Witness for Peace in Nicaragua, SIPAZ international human rights and peace presence in Mexico, and Middle East Witness, a neighborhood organizing project in the Lower Ocean Street neighborhood. The Center has a bookstore, library, and sponsors educational events and nonviolence trainings.
9. The Conflict Resolution Program, Santa Cruz City Schools District, and Resource Center for Nonviolence established SPARC to teach conflict resolution skills in area schools.
10. The Youth Opportunity Program, at the Double Rainbow Cafe in downtown Santa Cruz, is a retail yogurt enterprise that hires youth and helps them to develop skills in merchandising and sales.

C. Recent Development: The City of Santa Cruz, January 1997, authorized $100 towards construction of a skate facility in San Lorenzo Park. Other violence prevention actions included funding a Community Action Board youth employment program, establishing a Youth Outreach coordinator staff position, and authorizing $250,000 towards a youth center.

V. Suggested Actions For Further Progress

A. More after-school programs and gathering places are a priority, especially for youth, teens to mid-twenties. For example:

1. Recreation programs in the arts [See Community Youth Arts Project, Wm. James Assoc. - Educ. chptr.] and in sports.
2. Tutorial/mentor programs staffed by capable college students, as well as adults.
3. Increase funding for counselors in the schools to focus on the needs & problems of youth.

C. Expand the SCC Youth Hotline, staffed by trained volunteers to help deal with a whole variety of issues ranging from family arguments to sexual abuse to weight loss, etc. Research the Santa Clara pilot program (408) 279-8228.

D. Increase training for youth in technical skills, encouraging higher education, obtaining success in community endeavors, and helping to raise self-esteem in workshops and through counseling.

E. Encourage community support for local organizations and programs that are concerned with issues of self- esteem and nonviolence, and also with training youth for employment; advocate their need for funding at the state and local government level. [Also see Education chapter]

F. Increase crime prevention programs.

G. Research successful models from outside SCC, and explore implementing similar programs here. e.g. Central Park East Secondary School, The Foundry - an alternative high school in San Jose, Beat the Streets program in Cleveland, & others.

H. Work on all fronts to remove violence from our children's lives, including entertainment and the media.

I. Encourage interagency approach to crime and violence abatement.

J. Expand provision for funding and enrollment in the Men's Alternatives to Violence program.

VI. Local Resources & References

• Barrios Unidos, 313 Front St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060; (408) 457-8208.
• The Brown Berets -meets every Wed. at the Phoenix Services Center, Watsonville (408) 722-4211; Contact Mary Ann, (408) 724-3783 or Luis, (408) 722-4902.
• Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, (408) 429-3456.
• Defensa de Mujeres, 406 Main St., Rm. 326, Watsonville, CA 95076; (408) 722-4532 or 426-7273 (provides domestic violence and crisis intervention & counseling).
• Familia Center, 711 E. Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95060; (408) 423-5747.
• Gang for Good, Our House of Concern, Inc., 12 Pera Dr., Watsonville, CA 95076; Contact Richard Lewis, (408) 728-2588.
• Mothers United to Fight Gang Violence, (408) 728-9057, Maria Roman.
• Neighborhood Watch, Community Services Division of the Watsonville Police, (408) 728-6165.
• Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance, Inc., 3335 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, CA 95076; (408) 728-6445.
• PeaceBuilders, 7310 Mesa Dr., Aptos, CA 95003; (408) 688-4963, Kathie Beach.
• Resource Center for Nonviolence, 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA 95060; (408) 423-1626; Email: rcnv@rcnv.org
• The Women's Crisis Support Center, (408) 477-4244 or 728-2295.
• Youth Opportunities Job Training Program, 1123 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, (408) 423-3231, Don Lane.

Documentation Sources

1. Anne E. Casey Foundation data.

2. Community Assessment Project,'96.

3. San Jose Mercury, 3/17/96 'Santa Cruz neighborhood group spreads success nationwide.'

4. This World, "A Nation of Dunces," 12/12/93.

• San Jose Mercury, 12/92,4/94,8/95,3/96, & 4/96.

• Cabrillo's Community College "Gang for Good" information packet.

• Interviews conducted by Susan Russell.

Contributors: Chairperson Susan Russell, Ruth Hunter, Jeanne Nordland, Judy Yokel, Tony Hill, Scott Kennedy, Sandy Brown, Paul Johnson, Paul Brindel, Will Lightbourne, Stephanie Butler, Kim Argula, Jeanette Hines, Max Greenburg, Judith Gray, Nicholas Whitehead, Charlotte Spitzer, Pat Arnold, Michael & Maureen Smith, The Katzen Family, Marilyn Garret, Rachel & Gordon Haskell, Benet Luchon, Tim McCormick, Chris Johnson-Lyons, Linda Lemaster, Lotus Mayor, Rob Garcia, David Minton Silva, Bob Guzky, Becky Johnson, Simba Kenyatta, David & Paula, Jessica Murray, Becky Johnson, Richard Lewis, Jim Costner, Robert Norse, Daniel Hopkins, Sherry Conable, Carlotta Woolco, Maria Smallwood, Charlie Phillips, Cabrillo College Interclub Council, Dr. Crow, UCSC Student Senate, Kathy Beach, Robby Wheeler, Paul & Harriet Blue, Rebecca Garcia, Jack Tilney, Brother Tony, Greg Chanskey, Richard Ochia, Eleaner Eisenberg, Peggy Sue Welch, David Williams. (Compiled by Susan Russell, Ruth Hunter, & Jeanne Nordland).