In 2020, SARCC partnered with the Community Health Council of Lebanon County, Domestic Violence Intervention, Empower The Mind LLC, and the United Way to instal the Communities That Care Model in 4 at-risk communities based on ALICE Data. According to the University of Washington, “Communities That Care is a community-based prevention system proven to reduce youth health and behavior problems community wide.”
The intervention uses public health science to target the root causes of multiple forms of violence. The interesting thing about violence is that many forms share common risk factors. So, for example, drug use, family history of violence, and low school commitment all are shown to increase risk for perpetrating sexual violence, dating violence, intimate partNer violence, gang violence, and elder abuse.
The CTC model helps communities to take a long game approach to prevention harmful behavior. It tracks local PA Youth Survey Data to help make informed choices about the best interventions needed in a particular community. The focus on using local data to select programs, and then to track the impact of those programs over time, increases the community’s ability to monitor their progress — leading to community-owned evaluation and continued improvement. CTC also helps to build a culture of reflective practice by intentionally engaging youth and community input.
