Tag: Baltimore
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April 4, 2024
What DC could learn from Baltimore’s crime reduction approach
Baltimore saw historic decline in homicides in 2023 while DC saw historic spike.
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November 2, 2023
Relentless Outreach – One Door at a Time
There’s no such thing as a lost cause. Roca doesn’t believe in them. They will find you. Since arriving in Baltimore in 2018, the unique anti-violence outreach and intervention program has tracked down hundreds upon hundreds of the city’s highest-risk young men – traumatized, distrustful individuals at the center of urban crime who are most likely to shoot, be shot, or have felony charges – and have given them an alternative to incarceration, incapacitation, and death.
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October 11, 2023
Key takeaways from iMPACT Maryland
Some of the Baltimore’s foremost experts in gun violence coalesced around the need for more accurate data in real time that would help inform policy decisions for violence intervention workers in the public and private spheres. The Roca Impact Institute’s JT Timpson is quoted.
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May 23, 2023
‘Where has this training been all my life?’: How healing trauma could actually reform policing
This approach isn’t a panacea to stopping police violence. There isn’t one. But we believe this is part of the solution.
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May 23, 2023
Anti-violence program shows promise in first four years in Baltimore
When youth workers from the anti-violence program Roca first knocked on Sheldon Smith-Gray’s door in 2018, he thought it might be the police. He was “outside” at the time — “whatever you can think of, I was doing it, for sure,” he said in an interview Wednesday — and it took him about a year before he bought into Roca’s process 100%.
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February 27, 2023
This Week on CBS Sunday Morning
Steering young men away from a life with gunsIn Baltimore, where gun violence claims the lives of hundreds each year, what is missing from so many young men is a solid foundation. The youth workers behind a program called Roca (Spanish for rock) aim to provide that grounding, by teaching alternative ways to handling the stresses of life in a challenging environment. As one Roca participant, a former drug dealer, tells “Sunday Morning” senior contributor Ted Koppel, “I came a long way, from nothing to something now.”
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November 21, 2022
Roca expanding violence prevention efforts to Dundalk, Essex in Baltimore County
The outreach nonprofit Roca Baltimore is extending its work beyond city borders to Essex and Dundalk young men whose lives have been shaken by violence and incarceration.
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November 21, 2022
Olszewski announces new partnership pilot with Roca to expand youth violence prevention efforts into Baltimore County
Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski joined local partners and leaders at Roca Baltimore to announce a new pilot partnership to expand the organization’s youth violence intervention efforts into Baltimore County.
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November 21, 2022
‘They’re not criminals’: Roca Baltimore expanding into Essex
A program designed to save young people from lives filled with violence already has a track record in Baltimore. Now it is going to expand to Baltimore County.
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November 21, 2022
Leaders look to reduce crime in Baltimore County through Roca program
Baltimore County is getting some help in its efforts to try and reduce crime among youth and young adults.
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November 21, 2022
‘These young people matter.’ Anti-violence program Roca to expand into southeastern Baltimore County
The teens and young men in southeastern Baltimore County most at risk of killing or being killed are the target of an initiative set to expand to beyond the city’s borders for the first time in Maryland.
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October 4, 2022
Roca was awarded $2 million to expand violence intervention and deepen outreach
Roca Baltimore has been awarded a $2 million grant in an effort to expand violence intervention and deepen outreach on non-fatal shootings in Baltimore. The grant is part of a national violence intervention announcement from the Department of Justice’s Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative.
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October 4, 2022
U.S. Justice Department awards nearly $5.5 million to violence intervention groups in Baltimore
The Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs on Thursday announced grant awards totaling $100 million to help communities across the U.S. reduce gun crime and other serious violence. Department officials made the announcement during a visit to Baltimore.
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October 4, 2022
3 Baltimore violence-intervention programs split $5M in federal funds
The funding announced Thursday will go to Roca, the Black Mental Health Alliance and to Living Classrooms. The DOJ said it’s impressed with the results of the programs and the overall collaborative approach the city is taking to fight crime, so the money will be used to expand their efforts in and around Baltimore City.
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August 15, 2022
Look at me now
Using neuroscience to help at-risk kids — and change Maryland’s juvenile justice system.
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April 13, 2022
Roca: Relentless pursuit and building trust
JT Timpson speaks on Baltimore’s NPR station, WYPR, about what it takes to work with Baltimore’s young men and Roca’s new partnership with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.
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April 7, 2022
To Stem the Tide of Violence, Look to Medicaid
Roca Baltimore leaders urge Maryland to seize the opportunity to do more to help young people at the center of urban violence.
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March 24, 2022
Maryland Department of Juvenile Services partners with Roca
BALTIMORE — The Maryland DJS will partner with the Roca Impact Institute to focus on adolescent brain science, the impact of trauma on kids’ brains, and cognitive behavioral theory (CBT).
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November 16, 2021
Why ending violence in Baltimore’s Black communities takes more than just gun-control laws
BALTIMORE
BY HANNAH JIANG & AMELIA KOSCIULEK
NOVEMBER 10, 2021 | INSIDER
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June 10, 2021
Inside One Baltimore Group’s Effort to Stop Youth Violence Before It Starts
BALTIMORE — Violence can break out in a matter of seconds. But Roca measures success in years, focusing on changing young people’s mindsets.
BY J BRIAN CHARLES
JUNE 10, 2021 | THE TRACE -
February 4, 2021
Another year starts violently in Baltimore. Roca keeps knocking on doors to try to save lives. | COMMENTARY
The gauge we hate but cannot ignore shows that 2021…
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January 19, 2021
New DPW crew member reflects on first day of restoration of curbside recycling pickup
BALTIMORE — Curbside recycling pickup resumed Tuesday after a five-month suspension.
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October 16, 2020
Baltimore man says he’s ‘a young Black brother pushing for greatness’ with help from a local anti-violence group
BALTIMORE — Since March, seven young Baltimore men — all of them on a list to get help from a local anti-violence group — were killed before they got the assistance they needed. But workers from Roca were able to reach and help about 180 other young men in the past year…
FROM: BALTIMORE SUN
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December 18, 2019
Residents in SE Baltimore learn more about juvenile justice system, ways to help youth
BALTIMORE —In southeast Baltimore, residents are learning about the juvenile justice system and what is being done to stop young people from committing crimes…
FROM: WBAL TV
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December 9, 2019
This anti-violence program relentlessly courts at-risk youth. It’s off to a ‘remarkable start’ in Baltimore.
BALTIMORE — Antione Tates was suspicious of a white man who kept showing up at his West Baltimore home, fearing he was a police officer or a probation agent. His mother pleaded with him to call the phone number left at the door…
FROM: The Washington Post
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December 2, 2019
The C4 Show interview with Roca Baltimore Staff James Timpson and Kurt Palermo
Listen to the C4 Show clip on Roca’s first year in Baltimore with Roca Staff James Timpson and Kurt Palermo…
FROM: The C4 Show
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November 21, 2019
At-risk young men in Baltimore slowly turning to Roca, a program offering skills and means to combat violence
Antione Tates was suspicious of a white man who kept showing up at his West Baltimore home, fearing he was a police officer or a probation agent. His mother pleaded with him to call the phone number left at the door…
FROM: The Baltimore Sun
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May 21, 2019
Nearly one year in, Roca is chipping away at juvenile crime in Baltimore
Even on a mucky Monday, there’s a certain joy within a work crew on Harlem Avenue in West Baltimore. The joy is in the work and in the road to redemption.
FROM: WMAR-2 News
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May 16, 2019
It’s time to change the narrative on Baltimore. There’s a lot worth celebrating.
It seems like years since Baltimore has gotten a break. From violence to corruption, we have read story after story that portray our city negatively…
FROM: Washington Post
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March 20, 2019
The Tragedy of Baltimore
On April 27, 2015, Shantay Guy was driving her 13-year-old son home across Baltimore from a doctor’s appointment when something — a rock, a brick, she wasn’t sure what — hit her car…
FROM: NYT Magazine & ProPublica
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March 1, 2019
Roca workers race against the clock to change violent Baltimore boys
A report by the Roca organization on its first six months in Baltimore reveals how persistence, a key ingredient of the program, might pay off. It also shows…
FROM: Baltimore Sun
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March 1, 2019
Consistent intervention in the lives of offenders will spare Baltimore more violence
After another week of shootings and killings, this seems like a good time to say it again: Baltimore needs to not only suppress violence with smart police work, it needs…
FROM: Baltimore Sun
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January 10, 2019
After five months of recruiting Baltimore’s most dangerous young men, Roca ready to show its progress
Armed with a list of 180 young men considered Baltimore’s most dangerous, outreach workers have scoured city neighborhoods since July to find them…
FROM: Baltimore Sun
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January 10, 2019
Roca program aiming to reduce crime in young adults begins in Baltimore
A new effort to reduce crime among young adults in Baltimore begins on Thursday. The program is called Roca, which is Spanish for rock. It aims to give teens opportunities…
FROM: WMAR
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January 10, 2019
Nonprofit program targets Baltimore’s most dangerous young men
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is showcasing a new crime-fighting program targeting the city’s most dangerous young men. FOX45’s Keith Daniels was at the…
FROM: WBFF
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July 10, 2018
Roca is Baltimore’s newest effort to reduce crime among children, young adults
Around that same time, Molly Baldwin was back and forth from Massachusetts to Maryland – on a mission to bring a program she says could’ve saved Dawnta and those…
From: WMAR Baltimore
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July 4, 2018
Nonprofit Roca begins relentless pursuit of Baltimore’s most dangerous young men — to change them
A new team decked out in purple shirts hit the streets of East and West Baltimore this week, in pursuit of some of the most troubled and potentially dangerous young…
From: The Baltimore Sun
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March 7, 2018
Combating Violence at the Grassroots
Pugh has also moved to bring the Boston-based Roca anti-violence program, which targets young people 17-24, who are most vulnerable to violence and crime…
From: AFRO
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February 28, 2018
How And When Will The Cycle Of Violence & Corruption In Baltimore End?
The mayor is launching the Roca program, targeting young men once considered unreachable, with intense efforts to get them to turn their lives around…
From: CBS Baltimore
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February 21, 2018
This Anti-Violence Program Has Been Proven to Cut Crime. Can It Work in Baltimore?
Cities know that a majority of crimes are committed by a small slice of the population. In fact, somewhere between half and three quarters of all killings and…
From: Governing Magazine
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January 12, 2018
Baltimore can do better. Here’s how.
A $6 million commitment from our business community to help implement the nationally recognized Roca program in Baltimore will strengthen our efforts to…
From: The Washington Post
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December 30, 2017
Police commissioner: BPD making strides
The mayor’s relationship with philanthropist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other local leaders is bringing Roca and several long-overdue…
From: The Baltimore Sun
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December 17, 2017
Roca, Anti-Violence Youth Program On Its Way to Baltimore
Mayor Catherine Pugh has worked overtime to find $17 million in funding to bring Roca, a Massachusetts-based anti-violence youth intervention program to Baltimore. This…
From: AFRO
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December 15, 2017
Molly Baldwin’s Statement at Baltimore Mayor Pugh’s Press Conference
Thank you, Mayor Pugh and the City of Baltimore, for your remarkable generosity, due diligence into our work, and your incredible commitment to help…
From: Roca
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December 14, 2017
Anti-violence program to target high-risk youth in Baltimore
A new anti-violence program will focus on helping high-risk young men in Baltimore without relying on the criminal justice system. News outlets report that Mayor…
From: The AP
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December 13, 2017
Mayor Catherine Pugh Brings Anti-Violence Program to Baltimore
Mayor Catherine Pugh announced today that the City of Baltimore would be partnering with Roca—an anti-violence, nonprofit program based in Massachusetts…
From: Baltimore Magazine
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December 13, 2017
Mayor Pugh Announces Plans to Implement Roca in Baltimore, Disrupt Cycles of Poverty and Incarceration Through Program Focused on High-Risk Youth
Mayor Catherine E. Pugh announced today a $17 million public-private partnership with Roca, anchor business institutions and philanthropic organizations to…
From: City of Baltimore
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December 13, 2017
Greater Baltimore Committee raises $6.5M for city anti-crime program
The Greater Baltimore Committee raised $6.5 million to help Baltimore launch the Roca program, an anti-crime program successful in Massachusetts. GBC member…
From: Baltimore Business Journal
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December 13, 2017
Youth Anti-Violence Program Coming To Baltimore
A new youth violence prevention program could be a game changer in Baltimore City. Roca was announced Wednesday with fanfare at City Hall amid a wave of…
From: CBS Baltimore
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December 13, 2017
Anti-violence program Roca, funded by private donors, coming to Baltimore, Mayor Pugh says
Mayor Catherine Pugh said Wednesday that an anti-violence program that focuses on the most troubled teenage boys and…
From: The Baltimore Sun