Challenge
Jamaica’s persistent problem of violent crime has resulted in its regular inclusion in top ten lists of countries with the highest murder rates in the world. The primary source of community violence is related to gangs and youth violence. Traditional crime control measures do not address the underlying causes of violence—broken families and social decay; neglected and abused children; the erosion of moral authority by entrenched systems of lawlessness; and the influence of gang-dominated communities, with bad physical infrastructure, poor education, and limited job opportunities. Greater emphasis on resolving the underlying problems and preventing criminality is needed, rather than just responding to crimes.
Solution
The Positive Pathways activity in Jamaica focused on fostering resilience and cultivating an environment for sustained violence prevention by creating positive pathways for parents and caregivers to establish a supportive environment and economic opportunities for youth. Positive Pathways was dedicated to integrating Positive Youth Development (PYD) principles into all activities. As a subcontractor to Democracy International, Making Cents lead activities that integrated the principles of PYD to align local workforce development programs with employer needs and increased youth access to financial services and education.
To help the activity fully embrace PYD, Making Cents developed and facilitated PYD training for Positive Pathways staff and project stakeholders, including representatives of relevant Government of Jamaica agencies and local community organizations. During the COVID shutdown, the program launched via a four-part virtual training series for over 15 local youth-serving organizations. After the shutdown, it was expanded through in-person training via Master Trainer development and a training-of-trainers approach. To provide a collaborative platform for practitioners to deepen their understanding of PYD and continue to exchange ideas, strategies, and insights related to PYD integration, Making Cents helped launch a Positive Youth Development (PYD) Community of Practice (CoP) with the activity’s eight PYD Master Trainers. This CoP convened quarterly for a year and helped develop an enabling environment by supporting local service providers in offering age-appropriate and youth-friendly services.
Making Cents initiated the launch of the Set Up for Success: Supporting Youth in Early Adolescence program targeting at-risk youth ages 10 to 13. Set Up for Success is designed to help youth build foundational skills necessary for developmental transitions. This program applies the principles of PYD to a learning setting by supporting skill development, preparing youth for leadership and engagement, enhancing a sense of agency, and establishing a supportive, enabling environment. Through participation in the curriculum, youth will identify and communicate their assets, build healthy relationships, and engage positively with the communities they belong to, thus increasing their resilience and protective factors against engaging in crime and violence. Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback from the initial launch, Making Cents began supporting Positive Pathways to develop a comprehensive program, Set Up for Transitions, that will include the Set up for Success program, a program for older youth, and a program for parents of the participants of both youth programs. The program for older youth, Set Up for Life, will focus on helping prepare youth ages 14 to 18 for the transition from secondary school to tertiary education and/or the workforce. The parent program, Set Up to Support, will provide parents and caregivers of youth in the Set Up for Success and Set Up for Life programs with guidance on supporting youth through these programs and pivotal transition points.
To support viable and safe economic pathways for Jamaican youth, Making Cents also engaged in a three-pronged approach of enhancing i) youth inclusive financial services, ii) youth self-employment, iii) workforce readiness and employment opportunities. To launch these activities Making Cents completed the School to Work (S2W) Transition Assessment, a comprehensive effort to understand and address the specific needs, preferences, and opportunities of at-risk Jamaican youth in economic engagement. Making Cents partnered with three selected financial service providers (FSPs), LASCO Financial Services, Jamaican National Bank, and Sagicor Bank, to foster agency and an enabling environment development by supporting FSPs’ ability to provide access to age-appropriate and youth-friendly. Making Cents provided Technical Assistance (TA) to strengthen FSPs’ ability to serve at-risk youth and offer products and services within Positive Pathways communities. To support families and young people in making financial decisions and communicating about finances with family, Making Cents co-developed a Family Financial Assets management program for parents and caregivers of at-risk youth and a financial literacy camp program for youth leaders, both of which were rolled out through a local partner organization.