Community members’ and community partners’ perspectives on community readiness to address youth violence prevention in a low-income urban community

Abstract

Youth violence is a significant public health concern in the U.S. The current study identified qualitative themes related to aspects of community readiness including biggest concerns about youth violence, knowledge of youth violence prevention efforts, community climate, priorities for mobilization, and community resources in an urban, economically marginalized community. A total of 10 community members and 26 community partners including service providers and organization leaders participated in qualitative interviews. Study findings identified themes across the above aspects of community readiness that highlighted the devastating costs of youth violence for families, including being a victim of violence and the continual worry about youths’ safety that impacted day-to-day living and emotional health. In describing biggest concerns, community climate, and priorities for mobilization, participants focused on the need to address social and structural community-level risk factors for youth violence. Participants also described perspectives on barriers and supports related to community members’ openness to change, and discussed community strengths and resources. These results offered a context-specific picture of community readiness that has implications for youth violence prevention.