In the typical narrative, urban violence is driven by young men who turn to gangs and criminal activity to navigate a world where violence is a means of survival. So why are nearly a quarter of Roca participants young women?

Young women caught at the intersection of poverty, racism, and violence face similar pressures to young men—day-to-day survival amid constant trauma. Over the past several years we’ve seen an increase in number of young women caught up in the criminal justice system and violent crime—as both victims and perpetrators.

But in many ways, young women’s involvement with violence is more complicated. Their lives are often shaped by trafficking, sexual and domestic violence, and involvement with multiple complex public systems. On top of that, most of Roca’s young women are parents themselves, trying their best to shelter their children from the chaos.

Before Roca transitioned from providing home-visiting services to serving only the highest-risk young mothers in 2013, no other organization in the country was focused on this unique group of women. But in the last 11 years we’ve been able to stop hundreds of young women from slipping through the cracks and expand the Young Mothers’ Program—now Young Women’s Program—to 5 sites in Massachusetts and 1 in Hartford, CT.

Throughout this issue of Roca Ink, we take a closer look at the young women at the center of urban violence: highlighting young women’s stories, the unique challenges they face, and the strong outcomes that Roca is known for.

Dear Friends,

This spring, all of Roca across three states came together to reflect on, refine, and strengthen our four core values: serving others with empathy, love, and hope; prioritizing safety in every action and decision; healing and empowering young people; and building trust through support and accountability.

Those values guide us to relentlessly focus on young people at the highest-risk of violence—those who struggle with trauma, are highly vulnerable, and at times highly volatile. We must act with urgency to get them out of harm’s way, and never give up, even when they slam the door in our face.

Our young people have grown up with the trauma of violence all around them—in the communities we serve, it’s often easier for young people to get a gun than a healthy meal. Breaking the cycle of violence takes incredible strength, and each young person has to take their own road to get there.

It is a sacred privilege to guide young people on their journeys, and to share some of their stories with you. Beyond the painful realities of their lives, we witness their extraordinary courage and help them grow. How lucky are we?

In Peace and Solidarity,

Molly Baldwin
Founder and CEO

Dear Friends,

From an emerging program in Boston, to milestones reached in Hartford, to the story of one remarkable young woman in Chelsea, in this issue of Roca Ink, you’ll get an inside look into how we are continuing to grow, learn, innovate, and share what we’ve learned.

Speaking of sharing, one of the most common questions we receive is, “When will Roca come to my community?”

The truth is that we can only grow our direct services so fast. When it’s easier to get a gun than a job, violence among young people will tragically extend farther than our own youth workers can reach.

Thankfully, the secret to Roca’s success isn’t magic, it’s brain science. Teaching one young person at a time—and the front line workers who make such a big impact in their lives—to think differently and do differently.

So our best avenue for bringing Roca’s success to more communities where it is urgently needed is to share the theories and techniques at the heart of our successful approach.

In 2023 we directly served nearly 1,800 young people, but in that same year the Roca Impact Institute coached more than 2,500 community violence interrupters, case workers, and police officers in 21 cities across the country. Those workers will touch tens of thousands of young lives.

We are so grateful to the community members who have joined with us, locally and across the country. Your support proves that every young life has value, no matter what they’ve done in their past. We could never have come so far without you.

If you haven’t already done so, please consider making a gift this holiday season so we can keep growing, keep innovating, and keep changing even more lives.

Donate Now

In Peace and Solidarity,

Molly Baldwin
Founder and CEO

Dear members of the Roca community,

There’s a saying in community violence intervention that tempers get hotter as the temperature rises. For a while now, each summer has been hotter than the last, and violence is trending upward to match.

Thanks in part to 3D printed firearms, it’s easier than ever to access and conceal guns. The highest-risk young people are now facing even greater risk, and there’s an urgent need for organizations like Roca to step up. We are responding by sharpening our focus on the young people who are most likely to shoot or be shot, deepening our partnerships with law enforcement and the justice system, and emphasizing safety for both our young people and front-line staff.

Despite the challenges, we know our method works and we see progress every day. It’s a privilege to help young people heal their trauma and change the way they think so that they can change their lives.

So many of you from all across the country were moved to join us in our mission after Roca received national news coverage on CBS Sunday Morning early this year. Your faith in us strengthens our resolve to disrupt the cycles of racism, poverty, and violence. From advocacy on the national stage to outreach on the streets, we’re excited to share this glimpse into how we do it.

Hot Off the Press

ROCA BALTIMORE: STOP THE BLEEDING

Five years ago, Roca brought our community violence intervention model from Massachusetts to Baltimore, Maryland, and Baltimore has started to see a change. In their recently released white paper entitled Roca Baltimore: Stopping the Bleeding, Stephen Butz and Andre M. Davis turn to the work of Thomas Abt, a leading expert on reducing urban violence, to explore why Roca ‘s model succeeds where other programs do not.

Read the Paper

MOLLY BALDWIN AT THE NATIONAL SAFER COMMUNITIES SUMMIT

This spring, Roca CEO and Founder, Molly Baldwin, spoke at the National Safer Communities Summit alongside leaders in gun violence prevention from across the country and President Joe Biden. The Summit was held on the 1-year anniversary of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which offers state crisis intervention orders, protections for victims of domestic violence, stricter gun laws and investment in children and family mental health services.

Molly spoke about how funding from the BSCA is helping Roca’s community violence intervention and survivor support work in Baltimore. Watch Molly’s panel discussion below.

Participant Spotlight

MEET SEDALE COLLYMORE

These days Sedale is a positive role model for his young son. He holds down a career in maintenance with plenty of room for growth, is a talented musician, and dreams of one day starting his own painting business.

But he had a bumpy road to get here.

At 17, Sedale found himself facing felony charges that could have followed him for the rest of his life. His path changed direction when he was accepted into the Emerging Adult Court of Hope (EACH), a collaboration between Roca Springfield and the Hampden County District Attorney that gives young people the opportunity to have their charges dropped and their records sealed. In exchange, they must participate in Roca, build a career path, and demonstrate that they are transforming their lives.

After he was released from jail, Sedale faced homelessness and a suspended drivers license. At first he was skeptical that Roca would work out for him, but he agreed to participate in our Transitional Employment Program, where he formed a close bond with his crew supervisor, Ricky Jones. Sedale struggled to regulate his emotions and take accountability, but Ricky taught him cognitive-behavioral theory skills to help him calm his mind, stay focused, and think things through before reacting.

Sedale worked hard to obtain stable housing, got his license back, and started showing up for his young son like never before. He gained employment skills and built a stable career.

Sedale’s positive decisions helped him become one of the first young people to graduate from the EACH program earlier this year, and in May he received Roca’s Vichey Phoung Peace Award, which recognizes Roca participants who exemplify the transformation which Roca seeks to bring about in all of the young people we serve.

Read more about Sedale’s journey

Learn a CBT Skill

BE PRESENT

Trauma keeps young people stuck in survival mode, so they keep repeating the same negative behaviors. That’s why we use Rewire CBT, a relatable and simple version of cognitive-behavioral theory that helps young people heal from trauma by rewiring their brains.

The 7 Rewire CBT skills help young people understand the relationship between what they think and say in their heads, what they feel in their bodies, and what they do in response. They learn to identify negative patterns, pause, and make a choice before they act.

Rewire CBT Skill #1: Be Present

When something triggers us to feel angry or scared, it’s easy to get stuck in the past, or worry about the future so much that we can’t move forward. This is even more true for young people who have lived through trauma after trauma.

Being present means taking a pause to focus completely on the here and now​. It means putting the breaks on thoughts like “How could I be so stupid”, “This is unfair”, or “I can’t deal with this”, and instead observing the present with full attention and without judgement​.

It’s hard work to stay focused on the present when it feels like everything is going wrong. But over time, practicing this skill helps young people slow their racing thoughts, decrease their stress, and take more control over their choices.

WE’RE HIRING

Roca is looking for excellent candidates who are committed to helping young people at the center of urban violence transform their lives. We are hiring for several positions in Baltimore MD, Hartford CT, and across Massachusetts, including:

• Youth Workers to engage the highest-risk young people in transformational relationships to drive behavior change.
• Crew Supervisors to help young people in our Transitional Employment Program learn and practice the skills necessary to be successful at work and in life.
• Education & Workforce Readiness Instructors to engage young people in education and work force readiness programming to help them successfully enter the workforce.

And many more! Visit our jobs page for all openings.

If you’re excited by Roca’s mission and think one of these jobs would fit you well, we invite you to apply or forward the job listings to a friend.

Dear Roca Friends,

Well, that was quite a year for all of us, and certainly for Roca’s young people. We focused all our energy on responding to the pandemic and the renewed call for racial justice. Look out for the next edition of Roca Ink.

Dear friends,

Fall often feels like a time for reflection – as the leaves turn and the air gets crisper, we are reminded that the only constant in life is change. At Roca, that’s what we hope to give young people all year round and every day – opportunities to reflect; chances to begin anew.

And inside Roca, we’ve certainly been reflecting: looking, learning, refining, and figuring out how to get better at what we do for the young people we serve.

As psychiatrist and systems change expert Dr. Alisha Moreland-Capuia writes, “[We] need to view violence and risks for violence from the lens of unmet need, unaddressed trauma, lack of connection and understanding.”

We agree. After 31 years, here’s what we have learned: young people need unconditional love, consistency, and safety. They need to be able to trust others to navigate or heal from trauma. They need to be able to make mistakes, learn from them, and try again. And they need us to keep showing up for them, even when they fail. Only then can they can drop their guns; finish their education; keep a job; or become the parents they want to be.

So we never give up on young people. We do relentless outreach and build relationships to create safety and stability. We use cognitive-behavioral theory (CBT) to break through their fear and directly address the hurt and anger that causes urban violence. We then provide a network of tools designed to meet them where they are and exercise new emotional muscles everyday — like daily CBT; paid job skills training to help them earn income and practice a daily routine; parenting education that’s fun for both parent and child; and peacemaking circles to connect deeply with their community —all which you can learn more about here.

This Fall and always, Roca’s hope is that we can provide our young people with a better path to walk, where every next positive step creates a ripple effect in our communities. We don’t ask that they graduate from college tomorrow. For now, we ask that they walk with us on a difficult but important path to think differently, choose consciously, and live peacefully. We want for them what we all have on a good day – ordinary and happy lives.

We feel so lucky that you, and so many young people – more than 1,300 over the last year – have chosen to walk with Roca. Thank you for your continued partnership and support for our young people, who give us hope in new beginnings every day.

Warmly,

Molly Baldwin
Founder & CEO

NIC RECOGNIZES ROCA FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES

We are thrilled that the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) has cited Roca as a model for implementing evidence-based practices in work with our highest-risk and hardest-to-reach young people. A 2017 article authored by Roca and published by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Executive Session on Community Corrections is listed by the NIC as a “top-shelf” resource for evidence-based practice implementation. Read more here.

UPDATES ON OUR YOUNG PEOPLE’S SUCCESS

An external evaluation by Abt Associates has revealed that Roca young men age 18-24, after 3 years, have a recidivism rate of 33%, which is roughly 20% less than HOC and DOC rates gathered for all risk levels, not just the highest-risk group that Roca serves. Learn more here.

What’s more is that when they our young people have recommitted, it’s for less violent crimes—only 16% of those who went back to jail did so for violent crimes, which you can learn more about here. In addition to staying out of jail, they’re getting jobs: 77% of participants enrolled 21+ months were placed in unsubsidized employment positions, and 64% were able to hold down a job for at least a year.

NEW ROCA BALTIMORE REPORT SHOWS FIRST YEAR DATA

We finished a strong first year of Roca in Baltimore, a city of hardworking and dedicated individuals fighting urgently for change. (Baltimore currently faces roughly a murder a day, on average, and three non-fatal shootings a day.) In the past year, Roca made 13,000 outreach efforts trying to find 327 young people. Although a large number of young people – 186 – were found ineligible for our model this first year (due to being incarcerated long-term or not having valid contact information), we successfully 95 of the highest-risk, hardest to reach young men with our intensive, trauma-informed programming, as planned. As always, we were relentless: in the case of one young man, Roca staff reached out 112 times before he agreed to come to programming!

 

We know the change process takes time, but it also takes cooperation and partnership with police and other law enforcement agencies. The police in Baltimore have been exceptionally open to Roca – in fact, they were our lead referral partner (comprising 71 percent of youth referrals) – and served as a key resource for identifying and locating the hang out areas of young men driving violence in the city. In the coming fiscal year, Roca Baltimore expects to grow to serve 175 young people intensively. Watch some videos on Roca Baltimore here.

CBT: KEY TO BEHAVIOR CHANGE

In telling the story of how they changed, Roca’s young people consistently credit Roca’s mobile, simplified version of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – taught by our youth workers not only at Roca but in cars, coffee shops, and on the street.

Mobility and accessibility – that is what makes Roca’s version of CBT so effective. We get that young people in the toughest situations often aren’t ready to engage long enough or deeply enough in complex curricula and tend to refuse traditional therapy in clinical settings.

Through the teaching and modeling of 7 core emotional skills, Roca’s CBT-based intervention and approach to youth work provides critical life-saving information that helps young people address trauma; disrupt their “think-feel-do” cycles before violence occurs; clarify their distorted thinking patterns; and take control of their lives.

Preliminary results have shown that Roca participants who practice CBT skills have almost 70% more total days at Roca compared to those who did not practice any CBT skills, and almost 280% increased chance of obtaining a job. These are key factors in preventing recidivism.

PARSNIP PANEL WITH CONGRESSMAN JOE KENNEDY, ATTORNEY GENERAL MAURA HEALEY, AND DAVID GERGEN

Congressman Joe Kennedy III, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Roca Youth Worker Victoria Ramirez-Morales spoke on November 7 at a Roca panel on Immigration, Trauma, and Central American Youth at Parsnip restaurant in Harvard Square.

Moderated by Harvard Kennedy School Center for Public Leadership Founding Director David Gergen, the panel spoke around their own experience with visiting the border, as well as family separation here in Massachusetts. Ramirez-Morales spoke of her own experience coming here, and the trauma that the young men she works with face before they arrive at Roca. She also spoke of the various tools Roca uses to help the youth heal their trauma—peacemaking circles in the high schools, and the use of Cognitive Behavioral Theory (CBT). We use CBT curriculum to teach our young people to think different in order to act different—allowing them to develop emotional literacy to overcome behavioral barriers so they can build skills and lead fuller lives.

Thank you to Congressman Kennedy, Attorney General Healey, David Gergen, and Victoria Ramirez-Morales for your participation and support of Roca!

AN OP-ED IN THE LYNN ITEM FROM ROCA’S EMILY FISH

Roca Lynn’s own director and youth worker, Emily Fish, recently had an op-ed published in the Lynn Item featuring two young men from Lynn who have gone through the Roca program and have successfully turned their lives around for the better. Check it out online.

SPOTLIGHT: ROCA YOUNG MAN

“If I really wanted to, I could [be back in the streets], but I know my decision is to stay here because I don’t want to get in trouble and be locked up. I’ve made too much progress—I can’t go back now.”

At Roca, we know the path to stability and independence is never a straight line. The fact that Henry today works a stable job and has logged 1,000+ hours of programming at Roca is nothing short of extraordinary. His story is one of hard work and resilience, but a lot has threatened to disrupt his progress along the way.

“I was all over the place” is how Henry describes himself when he first came to Roca. At 14, he dropped out of high school and was in and out of DYS custody: “I had distanced myself from my friends and was on the streets, hustling, getting in trouble, stealing cars”. In 2017, Henry’s DYS worker, a former Roca staff member, referred him to Roca. Read the full profile here.

SPOTLIGHT: ROCA YOUNG MOM

Below is a speech from a Roca Young Mom at Springfield City Hall on November 7. Thank you DTA for your partnership!

My name is Zorimary Davila. I enrolled into the Roca Young Mom’s Program nine months ago. I came to the Roca Young Mom’s Program four months pregnant and did not have a clue as to what I was going to do.

Although, I had many issue and challenges that I was dealing with in my life at the time, the Roca Young Mom’s Program helped me in many different ways, but the most important issue was housing. Not long after I enrolled into the Roca Young Mom’s Program, they were able to help secure housing for me. That within itself relieved a whole lot of stress that I was dealing with. Having secured housing, allowed me to focus on my goals. My short term-goal is to acquire my Hi SET then to go on to train to become a CNA. I was able to work on my HiSET because Roca helped me get connected to DTA which helps me me support myself so I can focus on taking classes. Roca works closely with my DTA case worker. My long-term goal is to eventually one day become an anesthesiologist. The Roca Young Mom’s Program has been a great benefit to my life.

I contact my teacher and/or my youth worker every single day for a ride to the Roca building because I get an awful lot from going there. By going there as often as I can, I am able to spend more time on studying to pass my HiSET and by learning about CBT, it has given me the tools to use and manage different emotional issues that I may encounter. I like coming to class for the education that I receive and also, my teacher is positive and a very encouraging person. I definitely could use all the positive energy and encouragement I can get. Through coming here, I have been able to redirect my life in a positive way for not only my future but for my children’s future’s as well. I want to thank DTA for that too and for working with Roca to help mothers like me.

ORGANIZATIONAL UPDATES

As part of our reflection this Fall, we’ve been diving into our work and deciding what is most of value to our young people and what isn’t – which has led us to double down on CBT, and re-focus our theory of change to meet the needs of our current population. We’ll share more about these changes in our Annual Report in the New Year.

We’ve also continued to build our capacity and grow our presence around Massachusetts. Our COO, Scott Scharffenberg, was appointed the new Roca Massachusetts Executive Director to lead this work across the state. Scharffenberg will oversee operations in five locations, the implementation of the Roca intervention model and services, and lead efforts to grow Roca’s outreach to those that are the highest risk and hardest to reach.

“It’s an extraordinary privilege to know and work with the young people we serve. Second only to that, is the gift of working with a remarkable team of people who are also committed to serving young people with the hope that, in some small way, together we can promote justice and opportunity for everyone,” said Molly Baldwin, Roca Founder and CEO. “I have been deeply honored to lead the work in Massachusetts for just over 31 years and, as we expand our work to other places, I am thrilled to partner with Scott as he takes on the leadership of our work here.”

Finally, we’ve continued to build out our Board of Directors. This year, we’ve welcomed Adrian Dingle, a former NFL player and former youth football coach; Jay Ash, President and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership; Michael Davis, Associate Vice President of Public Safety for Northeastern University; Ethan Berkwits, Senior Editor and Content Strategist at Brown Advisory; and Thaddeus Miles, Director of Community Services at MassHousing. Existing board members include: Stew Chapin, Trustee at the Bennett Family Foundation; Christine Kendall, Founding Partner at SmarterGive; Maggie Moore, Former Vice President at Goldman Sachs; Dwight Robson, Chief Public Strategy and Marketing Officer at the MENTOR Network; John Shue, Managing Director of Private Equity at Harvard Management Company; and Greg Torres, Chairman of the Board at MassINC.

Young Men and Young Mothers are making positive changes in their lives because of you. Each year during the Holidays we try and provide a gift for our young men and women. We would appreciate your contribution to Roca’s Holiday gift drive by purchasing one of the items on a wish list we have created here. We will be distributing the gifts during the Holiday parties for the young men and women in December.

Many of our participants are without family and we like them to feel as if they are not alone and forgotten during the Holiday season.

Dear Roca friends,

The summer is a tricky time for us at Roca. We get to be outside more, spend more time with friends and family, and enjoy the weather – but violence also peaks. This has been true this year in Boston, and has definitely been true in Baltimore, which had one of the deadliest months in years, with 38 victims in the streets.

We refuse to accept this status quo. We know there is a different way: we have to be more focused on the young people at the heart of this violence. We have to provide them with tools that can help them turn their lives around. And we have to work together relentlessly, until we prove that change is possible.

In the past few weeks we’ve had the pleasure of hosting events both in Boston and Baltimore for Thomas Abt’s new book Bleeding Out: The Devastating Consequences of Urban Violence — and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets. It is a special book not only because it brings the most up-to-date, cutting edge research on urban violence to the front – but also because it makes it in an accessible and practical way.

In the coming months we will be working with many of our partners to learn how some of Abt’s findings and recommendations can turn into a work plan for the cities we serve. We believe there’s a lot to learn from this approach not only in Baltimore and Boston, but also in Springfield, Chelsea, Lynn, Holyoke, and many other cities around the country. As Abt so aptly states, urban violence is “a gushing wound that demands immediate attention in order to preserve life and limb,” and we all need to do our part in stopping this bleeding.

Thank you for your continued partnership and support! We hope you partner with us to prove that summer doesn’t have to be a synonym for violence and that we all get to enjoy all the fun the warm months have to offer!

Warm regards,

Molly Baldwin
Founder & CEO, Roca

ROCA’S 2019 ANNUAL BREAKFAST

Thank you to all of you who joined us on our last Annual Breakfast! What a great morning. Hundreds packed the room for a morning of inspiring stories, a celebration of accomplishments, and look to the future for the work yet to come. Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins got the program rolling with a resounding “Good Morning!” serving again as the event emcee.

Boston Police Commissioner William Gross was present to share his own personal story and connection with the work Roca does.

“What I like about Roca starts with another ‘R’… Relentless. Relentless, Relentless, Relentless,” Commissioner Gross said. “Do not give up.”

We honored three Vichey Phoung Peace Award winners this year: Joseph Canzano, Christopher Mullins, and Keishla Aponte.

Emily Fish, assistant director of Roca Lynn, presented the awards for Joey and Chris. Both young men spoke about their experiences with the program, their growth, and having met through Roca, how they are both godfathers to each other’s children. Paola Rojas, coordinator of the Roca Chelsea Young Mothers Program, presents the award for Keishla.

A big congratulations to our young people for all of their hard work!

Michael Jacobson, Director of the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance and former President of the Vera Institute, spoke to the research side of the work, noting that Roca’s model is focused on working the highest-risk youth who are not ready, willing or able.

“This is our job. Help us to be brave,” said Molly, in closing. “Most of all, help us to be hopeful. All of our children and our young people need us. They matter.”

There were smiles and hugs, moments of reflection, and a nod to work ahead. Watch all the highlights of the morning here.

THIS YEAR’S VICHEY PHOUNG PEACE AWARD WINNERS ARE…

There were three Vichey Phoung Peace Award winners honored at this year’s Annual Breakfast: Joseph Canzano, Christopher Mullins, and Keishla Aponte, recognized for their hard work and determination to achieve substantial and positive change in their lives.

The winners of this award exemplify the transformation that we seek to bring about in all of the young people we serve.

“I get to be a dad, something I never had growing up,” said Joey, who has been working at a sheet metal factory for almost a year and is the proud father of a 2-month-old girl. “I’ve been out of jail for 3 and a half years. Change, it can really happen.”

“You always have a choice, but you are the only person who can make things better for yourself,” said Chris, who works full time as a maintenance technician and lives with his girlfriend and 2-month-old son. Joey and Chris also both shared that, having met through the program, they are both godfathers to each other’s children.

The three award recipients spoke to the challenges they faced before and during the program. Substance abuse, gang involvement, incarceration, unemployment; all road blocks that kept them from moving forward with their lives. But it was the relentless outreach and support from their youth workers that kept them striving for better, even in times of relapse.

“Roca helped me see a part of myself that I never could. I have become a strong women,” said Keishla. Today she lives at a place of her own, has steady employment and a car, and her child is in school. She has found her independence and is looking to start college classes soon.

All young people are capable of change, of growth, and of finding and practicing peace. We congratulate Joey, Chris, and Keishla for this great achievement and wish to thank all of our outstanding community leaders for their invaluable support which makes our work possible.

A DISCUSSION WITH THOMAS ABT ON HIS BOOK BLEEDING OUT

Earlier this month, Thomas Abt, author of BLEEDING OUT: The Devastating Consequences of Urban Violence—and a Bold New Plan for Peace in the Streets was joined by Roca, Dr. Anthony Braga, Director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University, Ed Dolan, Massachusetts Probation Services Commissioner, and Tracy Litthcut, co-director of the Boston Mayor’s Office of Public Safety, for a discussion on crime and violence.

“We can do things to save lives right now alongside those broader issues,” Abt, said, speaking to the larger issues of poverty, gun safety, inequality, and education. “It’s about relentless outreach. The people you’re reaching out to are going to tell you ‘no’ before they tell you ‘yes.’”

In his book, Abt shows that the highest levels of violent crime are perpetrated by a small percentage of people, many of whom have been violently victimized themselves. In order to reduce this level of crime, our focus must be on the highest risk individuals and that we have to meet the individuals within that group with a both empathy and resolve.

Abt proposes a number of strategies to address urban violence. Beginning with tackling violence head-on. As he notes in his writing, it is an issue we can and must solve in order to help our nation’s most disadvantaged populations.

Urgent yet hopeful, Abt’s book outlines practical solutions to this crisis facing many of our youth, as well as a call to action.

AN UPDATE ON OUR YOUNG MOMS

It’s awesome to see our young moms as they make so much progress. At Roca, we work with high-risk young mothers and their babies to break out of the cycles of poverty and violence. Through our relentless outreach approach, tailored programming, and collaboration with community partners, Roca helps these young moms transform their lives, find employment, and create better futures for their children.

We got an update on a few of our young moms who participated in the Certified Occupancy Specialist (COS) training with our partner Beacon Communities. Three young mothers, who thoroughly enjoyed learning and working at the facility, finished their paid, three-month internship at Beacon Communities this Friday and, we received some great news!

Everyone at Beacon Communities was so impressed with our young moms that they have decided to offer them full-time, salaried jobs with benefits once their internships end. This will be a newly created position call COS-in-training, allowing them even more time to learn as they become fully Certified Occupancy Specialists!

We’re so proud of our young mothers and all of their hard work towards achieving a better, brighter future for their children and themselves. Congratulations to our young moms!

NEW FACES AND FRESH PERSPECTIVES: ROCA’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Roca recently welcomed four new members to the Board of Directors: Jay Ash, Chief Michael Davis, Adrian Dingle, and Thaddeus Miles.

Jay Ash is the President and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership with a focus is on policies and initiatives that make the Massachusetts economy stronger and more competitive. Prior to this, Ash served as the Commonwealth’s Secretary of Housing and Economic Development in Governor Charlie Baker’s first cabinet, responsible for directing and executing Governor Baker’s agenda on housing and community development, job creation, business development, consumer affairs, and business regulation. He previously served for 14 years as the City Manager in his native Chelsea, where he grew the city’s housing stock by over 10 percent, expanded its commercial base with two dozen major projects, led all Gateway Cities with a 15 percent increase in new employment, developed 10 new parks, secured five credit rating increases, and won two All-American City designations. Not less important, Jay has known Roca for years and we always learn from him so much!

Chief Michael Davis is the Associate Vice President of Public Safety for Northeastern University and oversees the Northeastern University Police Department, Office of Emergency Management and the International Safety Office. Prior to this, he served as the Chief of Police for the City of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota’s 6th largest and second most diverse municipality, leading the city to the lowest levels of crime in 22 years. Davis is the recipient of the 2012 Gary P. Hayes Award from the Police Executive Research Forum and was one of a few select police chiefs throughout the nation to be invited as a member of the 2011-2014 Harvard Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety. He is also the founder of MBD Innovations, a police leadership consulting consortium. It’s a true honor and pleasure to welcome Chief Davis to our board!

Thaddeus Miles is the Director of Community Services for MassHousing, concentrating on three impact areas: Housing Stability, Knowledge, and Capacity Building, and Strengthen Families and Communities for several hundred Housing developments across Massachusetts. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force, co-chair of My Brother’s Keeper Boston, Chair of Becoming a Man, Boston, and was recently named one of Boston’s Most Influential People of Color. Miles had founded many local, national and international initiatives including HoodFit, a cross-collaborative movement to amplify the positive attributes in ones’ hood, “Think Big Dream Big,” a youth-driven initiative to jumpstart young people on the journey to a positive future and is the co-founder of Alray Scholarship Fund and Technology Consortium. We have learned so much from Thaddeus’ leadership over the years and we look forward to learn from him as our board member!

Adrian Dingle is a Roca supporter, originally from Holly Hill, South Carolina. Dingle attended Clemson University before spending six seasons as a member of the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League. While living in San Diego, Adrian worked as a youth football coach and volunteered for various community organizations focusing on making a positive impact on the lives of the cities at risk youth. He relocated to the Boston area in 2017 and has since been involved in Roca through volunteerism and community outreach. So excited to have Adrian join us!

For a full list of Roca board members, check out our website.

THE MESSAGE IN THE DATA: CHANGE IS POSSIBLE

We are lucky to have experts to learn from. At our Annual Breakfast, Michael Jacobson, Director of the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance and former President of the Vera Institute, spoke to the current state of criminal justice reform in the nation. And while crime and incarceration rates have dropped across the country, in some areas more significantly than others, there is still much work to be done.

“We are still by far the world leader in incarceration,” Jacobson noted, following with the statistic that 700 per 100,000 people are in jail or prison in the United States. “It’s a lot better than it used to be, but it’s still insanely high. There is still a tremendous amount of work to do.”

Jacobson explained further that much of the violence, and lethal violence, in the U.S. is in concentrated areas of poverty and is committed by young adults to other young adults.

“Exactly at that space, the young adults who hurt other young adults, both who are perpetrators and victims of crime, that’s the space that Roca finds itself in,” Jacobson said, pointing out that these are the young adults who are not ready, willing and able to participate. “They are in the deepest of the deep end of what happens in this field. Their model is to work with folks who desperately don’t want to work with them.”

In 2018 alone, Roca served 942 very high-risk young men and retained 78 percent of them throughout the year. Of those who completed the two-year, intensive component of the model, 88 percent had no new arrests and 92 percent had no new incarcerations. Additionally, of those who completed the first two years, 76 percent had jobs with 66 percent of them holding jobs for six months or longer. We are so proud to be able to help these young people change their lives for the better. And the data tells us: this change is possible.

“There is no place that Roca does. Their model of working with the highest-risk folks, the folks with most risk to both harm and be harmed is pretty extraordinary,” said Jacobson.

Dear Roca friends,

Hello! We hope you are excited as we are to see spring arriving—it’s great to watch our young moms in Chelsea and Springfield getting a chance to finally play with their kids outside!

Things have been moving fast here at Roca in the past few months. In this issue of Roca Ink., we’re sharing with you the progress of Roca Baltimore in its first nine months, an update on Massachusetts’ efforts to find the best approaches to deal with young adults in the justice system, and some new stories from our young people.

We also want to share with you what we’re learning about the tragic and deadly mix of social media, trauma, and violence. We keep hearing from our young people, staff and community partners about the key role of social media in driving and facilitating violence, and for the past few years we’ve been trying to explore new ways to address this concerning issue. Last January, we brought together some of the brightest practitioners and researchers on this topic, and we are committed to working together to find new ways to adapt the work with young people to this new reality. Stay tuned for more on this topic.

Roca’s Annual Breakfast is in just three weeks! We look forward to seeing you there!

Happy spring,

Molly Baldwin
Founder & CEO, Roca

ROCA’S 2019 ANNUAL BREAKFAST

On Friday, May 10, Roca will be hosting friends, supporters, community partners, staff and young people for the 2019 Annual Breakfast. It will be a morning of inspiration and courage, a reflection on the progress of the past year, and look ahead to our vision for future work.

Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Police Commissioner William Gross will highlight critical issues facing high risk youth alongside young people from Lynn and Chelsea, who will receive the Vichey Phoung Peace Award that recognizes their inspirational progress.

Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins will return as emcee along with Roca Founder, Molly Baldwin. Roca will feature speaker Michael Jacobson, Director of the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance and former President of the Vera Institute of Justice.

The event will be held at the InterContinental Hotel in Boston. Be sure to get your tickets today for this special morning! For more information, check here.

PROGRESS REPORT: NEW UPDATES ON ROCA BALTIMORE

It’s been nine months since Roca youth workers first took to the streets of Baltimore to bring our relentlessness to that city’s ongoing challenges. Since then, Roca Baltimore has enrolled over 70 young men, and we’re currently assessing over 40 more, just on track to meet our goal of serving 100 Baltimore young men in our first year on the ground.

It is a race against the clock to get to these young men. Tragically, some of them are shot or incarcerated before we can even get to them, and so many experience violence and trauma on a daily basis. We have to be persistent and focused: find those young men caught in the cycle of violence, knock on their doors relentlessly until they respond, build relationships, and bring them to Roca. We have no time to waste.

We have found a courageous group of staff members, community partners, city leaders and law enforcement partners who are as committed as one can be to stop violence in the city. It is our privilege to know them and work with them, and we are just humbled by what we learn every day.

Our building on 880 Park Avenue already feels like home. We invite you to stop by, ask questions, help us flex our thinking on hard topics, and work with us to build this path of hope for Baltimore and beyond.

Change is hard and it doesn’t happen overnight, but it is possible.

ROCA VOICES PAGE: NEW YOUNG PEOPLE FEATURED

Randy, Edward, Jovani, Yeni, and so many more—we consider it a privilege to be in their lives. They are our best teachers. We see young people every day who are faced with debilitating life challenges—violence, racism, poverty, lack of opportunity—and yet, still manage to move forward.

It’s why we are relentless in our work to reach out to them, to show them there is a way to build the life they want. It isn’t an easy path and change doesn’t happen overnight, but we’ve learned that when you stick with it, lasting change is possible.

On our recently updated Voices page, you can hear from our young people directly as they tell their own stories in featured video vignettes.

We’re inspired by our young people and we couldn’t be more proud of their hard work.

MASSACHUSETTS EMERGING ADULT TASK FORCE

Massachusetts is actively considering to raise the age of the juvenile court to 21, and is already exploring different ways to address young adult justice issues. Now, with a state team dedicated to this topic, we expect much more to come.

The criminal justice act of last year established a new task force to study raise the age and other police options for justice-involved emerging adults. State Senator Cynthia Stone Creem and State Representative Paul Tucker have been leading this effort, with deep commitment to young people and public safety. With policy ideas such as young adult courts and young adult units in correctional facilities, there’s plenty to consider.

With the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice Pay for Success Project, the Commonwealth is already a national leader on piloting new approaches for young adult issues: nearly 1,000 high-risk young people have been enrolled in the project in the past five years, and they are all served by Roca. The new task force is a great opportunity to build on the lessons learned and continue working for young people across the Commonwealth.

TACKLING THE CHALLENGE HEAD ON: SOCIAL MEDIA AND VIOLENCE

After several years of hearing from all our partners and staff about the deadly mix of social media, trauma, and violence, we decided to take a hard look on this critical issue. We believe there isn’t nearly as much attention to the impact of this mix on our young people and communities, and we’re determined to find a different way.

We live in the age of constant connection to social networks like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram. Commentary, pictures, and videos are disseminated and seen at lightning-fast speed and ever-widening reach. This online layer of interaction changes the way we engage with each other. And this is especially true for young people who are caught in a cycle of violence and trauma.

For these young people, social media plays a key role in every aspect of their lives – including violence. It is a reality that never stops, that follows them everywhere they go. They are in a group setting of hundreds of their peers at any given moment, for better and for worse.

The insults and threats that are made online are seen by all and can often trigger a real-world, violent response. It can be a lonely, isolating and depressing experience that harms young people and our communities.

Social media is here to stay, and as overwhelming as this issue may be, we need to find ways to restructure our work in a way that elevates the good and deals with the bad. We cannot shy away from the reality of our young people. Lives depend on it.

Together with our partners, we have started to build smarter ways of youth work, thoughtful and careful ways of law enforcement engagement in this space, and a safer path for young people. We will keep sharing with you what we learn, and we look forward to discussing this important issue with you.

Dear Roca friends,

Happy New Year!

2018 has been a year of new beginnings and milestones. We opened up our new site in Baltimore, expanded our work in Western Massachusetts with a new Holyoke location and a pilot of the Young Mothers program, celebrated 5 years of Roca Boston, and kept growing, developing, and learning.

And of course, we turned 30!

Going into the new year, we have our young people in mind. Sadly, the winter, and especially the holiday season, are often difficult, cold, and lonely for them. But we know that thanks to our partners, staff, and volunteers – and thanks to all of you – they have real reason to believe that the new year will be different: safer, surrounded by strong relationships, and full of hope.

We feel so privileged to know so many young people and be in their lives, and so blessed to continue doing such important work this year! Thank you for being a part of real change.

Have a great year,

Molly Baldwin

Founder & CEO

ROCA BALTIMORE HOSTS COMMUNITY FOR OPEN HOUSE

Roca Baltimore is now open! In November, Roca hosted Mayor Catherine Pugh, Baltimore Police Commissioner Gary Tuggle, local law enforcement, city officials, and community leaders at an open house of our 880 Park Ave location.

It has been our privilege to bring together so many of the friends, partners, and supporters who have made Roca Baltimore possible. Since July, our Baltimore team has been on the streets knocking on doors to reach some of the city’s highest risk young men. Over 60 of them are already enrolled in Roca, and we expect to enroll over 100 in the first year and go beyond 300 over the next three years.

At the open house, we shared our video highlighting the Baltimore team and underscoring our mission: we’re here to work hard—both with our partners and with young people.

In coverage of the event, The Baltimore Sun shared the progress Roca has made so far, capturing the day to day work that goes into relationship building, and ultimately, changing lives of young people.

Find photos of the event here and stay tuned for more updates on our Baltimore page!

FIVE YEARS OF ROCA BOSTON

We can hardly believe it ourselves, but Roca Boston is five years old. We were joined by many of our partners, including Suffolk County Sheriff Steve Tompkins, DA elect Rachael Rollins, and city and law enforcement leaders for breakfast and an update on the work being done in Boston earlier this month.

Those in attendance heard from our relentless youth workers who shared their approach to implementing the Roca model and their experience in reaching young people. We shared some of our recent lessons on reducing violence in the city, questions we’re still grappling with, and some of our earlier successes, too.

As we reviewed the data from past five years, it was humbling to realize we’ve already served 389 very high-risk young men in the city of Boston. 113 of them have already been enrolled for over two years, with 93% avoiding new incarcerations, 76% avoiding rearrests, 72% placed in jobs, and 53% holding jobs for over 6 months. We have a lot more to learn, but these are promising results for our first years in the city.

We know we couldn’t do this work without our community partners – conversations – like these help us better serve our young people. Thank you all so much!

Find more photos of the breakfast here!

ROCA’S 30^TH ANNIVERSARY COMMUNITY CELEBRATION

Roca turned 30 this year, and in October, participants, staff, alumni, partners and local leaders came together to celebrate Roca’s deep impact over the last three decades.

“I am in awe of all of you and all the young people we have met and had the honor of working with for the last 30 years, and all of the Roca team, our partners, and this community who made all this relentlessness possible,” said Roca Founder and CEO, Molly Baldwin, at the event.

We honored our Roca30 Unsung Hero Awardees including Massachusetts Senator Sal DiDomenico, Probation Commissioner Edward Dolan, Youth Services Commissioner Peter Forbes, Boston Police Captain Haseeb Hosein, Chelsea Police Captain David Batchelor, Hampden County First Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Fitzgerald and Kim Hanton, Director of Diversionary Addiction Services at North Suffolk Mental Health Association.

The most special part of the evening came when Roca also honored seven youth participants as Unsung Heroes as well – seven young people whose lives have been upended by Roca’s relentless outreach, its transformative programs and its many partnerships.

Those young people are:

• Joseph Acosta
• Caralis Rosario Hernandez
• Dakwam Johnson
• Ana Meia
• Amauris Melendez
• Gage Morrow
• Dennis Rodriguez

Featured speakers at the event were Jay Ash, Secretary of Housing and Economic Development under Governor Charlie Baker, Harry Spence, the former Receiver of Chelsea and Massachusetts Court Administrator, and Eric Rodriguez, a founding Roca youth member and Lead Pastor of The Way Church.

We want to thank the community, our partners, and allies for making such a difference in young people’s lives. Find our video of what relentless means to us here.

NEW FACES AT ROCA

We’re excited to introduce a few recent additions to the management team!

Meet Sunindiya Bhalla, Carl Miranda, and Patty Wilkenson:

With more than 12 years’ experience launching and leading high-impact early childhood initiatives, Sunindiya Bhalla joins us as Chief of 2Gen Programming & Strategy. She is responsible for further developing, implementing, and scaling Roca’s Young Mothers Program and raising its profile nationally as a model Two Generation program. Sunindiya graduated from Tufts University with a B.A. in Child Development and a Master’s in Public Health. She also holds an MBA in Nonprofit Management from the Heller School of Social Policy at Brandeis University.

Carl Miranda, Director of Roca Boston, brings 10 years of nonprofit experience working with state agencies. As a Salvadoran immigrant who spent his formative years in South Central Los Angeles in the 1980’s, and as a professional who has worked for many years in urban environments in front-line and management capacities, he understands the kind of struggles that young adults face in urban environments with poverty, trauma, and challenging relationships with law enforcement. Carl holds a BA from UC Berkley in Ethnic Studies and Rhetoric, a Masters in American Studies from NYU, Masters in African American Studies from Yale, and is ABD at Yale University.

As Roca’s new Director of Human Resources and Talent Management, Patty Wilkenson brings to Roca her extensive knowledge in all areas of Human Resources Administration across the non-profit and for profit industries. She previously served as Director of Human Resources with YouthBuild USA and Director of Stores with Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Clark University in Worcester, MA.

ROCA YOUTH WORKER VICTORIA RAMIREZ MORALES WINS 2018 VERONICA AWARD

And the Superstar Foundation’s award for using data to improve outcomes for young people goes to… Roca Youth Worker Victoria Ramirez Morales from Roca Chelsea! Congratulations, Victoria!

Each year, the Superstar Foundation searches for direct service staff who use data in their day to day work with underserved individuals and communities. Our own Victoria, who works with Central American Youth at Roca Chelsea, is an amazing example of this work.

Her no-nonsense approach and relationships with participants’ families and community partners has solidified her as a professional and expert in youth work. Victoria has maintained a minimum caseload of 23 participants, with Contact and Programming standards that exceed those of her peers. Her ability to juggle her caseload while simultaneously running programming off-site, both for her participants and for other young people as part of an agreement with a partner organization, demonstrates her dedication to all young people. While maintaining an average of exceptional contact and program standards, Victoria has been a consistent role model for getting her work done. On top of all of this, Victoria does it all with a smile, bringing the kind of positive light and energy to her young people, her peers, her team, and the partners that it takes to stay at this kind of work with young people day in and day out.

Victoria uses data on a daily basis to manage her caseload. Victoria is excellent at using all of the data during times when a participant is in relapse to understand patterns of behavior and identify what has or has not worked previously to inform her strategy to support that young person. She consistently comes to supervision with her data and, as a result, is prepared to have discussions with her supervisor on where her young people are in the model, what support she needs, and what she needs for others to move. Her attention to detail and her young people is shown through her steadfast numbers that she produces weekly.

The young people on her caseload are lucky to have her, and we’re lucky to learn from her every day!

ANNUAL REPORT: 30 YEARS AND 30 LESSONS

For our 30^th anniversary, we gathered 30 of the most important lessons we’ve learned over the years. Our annual report allowed us to reflect on the path that brought us here – our foundational beliefs, our everyday work with young people, how we believe change happens, and what it takes to making it all work.

Our journey is one of learning. Committing to serve young people who aren’t ready for change means that we always need to seek new solutions, ask hard questions, challenge our own thinking, and find opportunities to do, feel, and think differently. These 30 lessons are the outcome of many mistakes, do-overs, and realizations we had over 30 years of serving young people.

We invite you to learn together with us, and keep teaching us in the next 30 years!