Our Kids, Our Data
Guns Down, Life Up (GDLU) partners with public health professionals and community-based organizations to prevent and interrupt the cycle of violence that robs youth of their full potential.
GDLU is NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln' (Bronx, NY) response to inner city gun violence. The approach has the following distinct components: (1) prevention: engaging youth early in long-term mentorship and developmental activities to divert them from involvement with violent peer groups and behaviors; (2) community mobilization: engaging with concerned organizations and neighborhood residents to build community strategies to reduce neighborhood violence.
GDLU’s goal is to reduce violent injuries to young people, ages 10-18, so that they never end up as trauma patients in hospital facilities. By extension, the objectives are to:
- Increase young people’s engagement in positive, adult-supervised activities
- Improve participants’ physical and mental health
- Improve participants’ academic performance, including grade advancement and high achievement
- Reduce likelihood of justice system involvement
- Reduce idle time and risk behaviors
- Develop violence reduction strategies with community members
