Community Health Approaches to Trauma (CHAT)

The CHAT Violence Prevention Program will be implemented to culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate a youth-focused program to reduce crime among at-risk youth ages (13 – 24). This program intails eight-90-minute sessions for up to 10 youth and uses discussion, games, and multimedia formats focused on decision-making skills, de-escalation, effective communication, prevention education, negotiation skills and goal setting. We will be adapting the CDC’s researched based Effective Behavioral Intervention “Focus On Youth with Impact.” FOY was originally designed to address HIV, STD and pregnancy prevention for African-American youth. The impact component is geared toward parents or guardians of those youth. Community Wellness Project has adapted this comprehensive intervention to focus specifically on violence prevention and helping youth make conscious and informed decisions to avoid violence in their lives and in their communities.