Villages Without Walls

VWW aims to affect change among an incredibly risky target population in a chronically under-served section of inner city Boston. The program?s staff and designers are among the foremost experts on gang violence, streetwork, and gang interventions in the city of Boston. The strategy employed by The Greenwood Project is innovative, bold, and imaginative?but is based on the extensive research and ?street experience? of the project?s designers. There simply is nothing in Boston like it. VWW?s The Greenwood Project is a research-driven violence prevention intervention designed to address the ecological factors that are associated with youth violence. Part summer employment program, part community organizing effort, this violence prevention intervention will serve the riskiest possible population?an entire cohort of one of Boston?s most established and most violent gangs?through a multi-layered approach that aims to reduce the influence of the gang in the neighborhood and reduce risk factors for violent victimization and perpetration for its eight participants and other neighborhood youth. This intervention will attempt to make significant change not only among the participating youth, but also among their families, their peers (including older gang members), and their community.