BRAVE stands for Building Resilience Against Violence Engagement. We are a team of experts in social work, psychology, and child welfare based out of Loyola University in Chicago, IL. BRAVE is a new model focused on minority youth and their families. We are not only focused on individual behavior but the whole community. This is a partnership with the people and community connected to youth including family members, friends, school staff and community center staff.

BRAVE will provide minority youth and their families access to public health and social services agencies in their communities. BRAVE has collaborated with local agencies that represent minority communities: Centro Romero, Teamwork Englewood and Vietnamese Association of Illinois to ensure culturally and linguistically appropriate activities and outcomes. It is obvious there must be positive discussion around youth and policing, so we have invited corrections officers to be partner with us too. We know there are solutions to the frequent issues we see, and everyone needs a voice at the table when we have tough conversations about these issues.

BRAVE will integrate the viewpoints of youth and law enforcement professionals from these conversations in our work. BRAVE will develop a culturally appropriate youth violence prevention manual that can be reproduced in other minority communities. Over the next four years, we will work with youth ages 12-15 to develop this first-of-its-kind resource. Together, we will redefine and exemplify what it means to be BRAVE!