Train the Trainer Interdisciplinary Certificate in Violence Prevention for Non-Profit Leaders

Community violence is a complex issue affecting Baltimore City and its residents. Baltimore City has the highest rate of violent crime in the State of Maryland and the second-highest rate in the country. Over the past year, there were 317 homicides and 663 shootings in Baltimore City. The Train the Trainer Interdisciplinary Certificate in Violence Prevention for Non-Profit Leaders (TICVP) proposal is an innovative and collaborative intervention in violence prevention. The goal for the TICVP is to provide multidisciplinary training with a social justice lens and a credentialing process to support high-quality and effective violence prevention work to be done by non-profit leaders in the city. Staff and faculty from the University of Maryland, Baltimore will bring together experts in the fields of social work, law, criminal justice, violence prevention and intervention, youth, and social justice to form a coalition with the goal of developing and implementing a train-the-trainer model to improve response to community violence, inclusive of prevention and intervention, as well as to inform policies in the State of Maryland related to community violence. This model will: 1) provide an opportunity for participants to share best practices; 2) develop a holistic framework for understanding and responding to community violence; 3) increase their knowledge of the work of other organizations working in the community; 4) develop trust across the various agencies and organizations; and 5) provide an opportunity for participants to work collaboratively to improve response to violence in their communities.