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GOALS
MPACT is an advocacy program offering intensive, customized and comprehensive intervention services to high risk youth. Youth (ages 12-22) in or out of school are offered a diversity of services in an effort to become complex, positive and productive citizens.
Short-term goals include:
- Continue to provide intervention strategies to youth that are gang-affiliated.
- Expand MPACT services to 16 of the 39 zoned schools in the academic years of 2006/2009.
- HISTORY Service at least 100 additional youth by October 2008.
MPACT Program was created and designed to replicate a previous model used in Chicago to reduce gang-related crime and violence among youths in urban communities. The initial name of the project was “Gang Free Schools and Communities.” However, it became evident that the name was a deterrent which was changed to MPACT Program (Miami Partnership for Action in Communities Task Force).
The model followed five main strategies: (a) suppression, (b) social intervention, (c) organizational change, (d) opportunities provision, and (e) community mobilization. As a selected demonstration site, MPACT Program completed an assessment in which gang members and non-gang-involved youth were asked to give reasons for joining gangs. The most common answers were: lack of activities and lack of employment.
MPACT Program began to recruit youth in the fall of 2003. The project mainly targets youth between the ages of 12-22 that are gang affiliated either by self- admission, law enforcement intelligence, school staff and/or resident reporting. The youth may also be identified as the younger siblings of known gang members or may be a potential gang member based on behavior, associates or activity in the community where he/she lives or frequents
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