Proceedings to be Published by The Rosenthal Center for Clinical and Policy Studies at Phoenix House
On Monday April 13, a diverse team of government agencies and youth service providers partnered to host the 2009 NYC Youth Gang Symposium to raise awareness, identify effective interventions, and develop new solutions to reduce gang violence within youth service settings in New York City. The event, which was initiated by Dr. David Deitch, Chief Clinical Officer at Phoenix House, was held at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, in response to a recent spike in gang violence within residential substance abuse treatment settings.
Phoenix House Founder, Dr. Mitch Rosenthal facilitated the morning session which was opened by Dennis M. Walcott, Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development followed by Commissioner Martin Horn of the Departments of Correction and Probation. Other speakers included David Deitch, , Bridget Brennan, Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York, and Dr. Jane Bowers, Provost of John Jay College. A panel of the City’s law enforcement representatives outlined the scope of this problem using the latest gang intelligence data. The breadth of the problem was outlined by a city-wide range of youth service providers discussing relevance in their service setting. The two keynote speakers, David M. Kennedy Director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and Dr. Kevin Knight of the Institute of Behavioral Research at Texas Christian University, energized the morning program and primed thoughtful discussion in afternoon multi-disciplinary sessions. The afternoon workgroups formalized intentions to coordinate ongoing gang reduction work.
Phoenix House has submitted a proposal on behalf of the Symposium Planning Committee to the Department of Justice for funding to hire a full-time Gang Prevention Coordinator to formalize and lead the Gang Prevention and Reduction Steering Committee and work under advisement of David M. Kennedy.
Proceedings of the 2009 Gang Youth Symposium will be published and disseminated by The Rosenthal Center for Clinical and Policy Studies at Phoenix House, due out this summer.
Gang Symposium Steering Committee (listed in alphabetical order):
- Association of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers of New York State (ASAPNY)
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- New York Police Department – Gang Task Force
- NYC Administration for Children’s Services
- NYC Department of Correction
- NYC Department of Education
- NYC Department Youth and Community Development
- NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
- The Rosenthal Center for Clinical and Policy Studies at Phoenix House
Therapeutic Communities Association of New York