A $17 million public-private partnership between Baltimore and Roca—a Massachusetts-based organization—was announced this month by Mayor Catherine E. Pugh. The initiative aims to work with anchor business institutions and philanthropic organizations in efforts to help Baltimore’s highest-risk young people interrupt the cycles of poverty and incarceration affecting their lives.
Nationally recognized for delivering innovative and effective interventions targeting young adults facing the greatest risk of committing violence or becoming victims themselves, Roca operates from four Massachusetts locations: Boston, Chelsea, Lynn, and Springfield. The organization will now bring its proven model to Baltimore City.
“This is a very special announcement for me because we believe the approach to violence reduction is holistic, and we want to be inclusive in our approach to reducing the violence that exists in our city,” said Mayor Pugh. “Roca is not just a program that focuses in on individuals between the ages of 17-24, it is an intense focus that helps young people move beyond violence and into the types of job training, and personal development that leads them to become more productive members of our community.”
Reducing recidivism for justice-involved individuals while proactively supporting high-risk youth represents a major focus of this new partnership with Baltimore. Funding will draw from both public resources and private contributions secured by Roca and the City of Baltimore, though a state funding request remains under consideration.
Molly Baldwin, Roca’s founder and CEO, stated: “We are humbled by the incredible efforts in the city to bring about change,” “At Roca, we are painfully aware that we can neither arrest nor program our way out of the violence devastating this city and that we need a different approach. We are so grateful for the invitation to help and we know we have a lot to learn as we initiate our work in Baltimore.”
With five years of preparation already completed, Roca currently serves more than 1,000 high-risk young people across 21 Massachusetts communities. Initial Baltimore operations will engage 75 young people during year one, scaling to 300 annually by the conclusion of a three-year expansion period.
Summer 2018 marks when Roca will launch Baltimore operations, with intensive planning efforts already underway.