Understanding the Credibility of Credible Messengers in Violence Prevention Work

Objective:
The use of “credible messengers” to deliver violence reduction programs has spread rapidly since the Chicago CeaseFire (now Cure Violence) program began in 1999. Since then, Cure Violence (CV) has become a national and international model for violence prevention. New York City’s Young Men’s Initiative and Crisis Management System use credible messengers as the preferred staff for much of their programming; Washington, D.C. has a thriving credible messenger initiative; and, in New Jersey, credible messengers are being used in a novel application of the CV model in rural counties. This study is designed to contribute to further understanding the antecedents, correlates, and outcomes of credibility and deepening the conceptualization of a “credible messenger”. Specifically, this study conducts a qualitative case study of a CV program Blount-Hill & Szkola, “Credibility of Credible Messengers” operating in the Northeastern region of the United States. The site is ideal for the study of credibility, as it fits the basic profile common of CV programs across the country: It operates in a “high violence,” “low income” community composed predominantly of people of color and is staffed primarily with people of color previously involved in violence-prone networks and/or criminal legal processes.

Funded By:
New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center

Project Status:
In progress

Principal Investigator (PI):
Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill, PhD

Amount Awarded:
$ 4,939.00