CeaseFire
CeaseFire targets youth between the ages of 16-24 who are interconnected with the drug trade and also enmeshed in a culture of high violence, with a specific focus on youth and young adults of African Nova Scotian heritage. The main goal of CeaseFire is to reduce and prevent gun and other types of violence within the HRM. CeaseFire is an International Replication site for the Cure Violence model which originally began in Chicago.
The RRC’s evaluation team will engage in both quantitative and qualitative data collection to explore the program inputs, program activities and program outputs. As a means of evaluating the measurable outcomes of the program, the questionnaire youth complete upon entry into the program, is completed again once every six months while in the program and then upon exiting the program for the following four years. Qualitative data collection included one-on-one interviews with youth and staff, file reviews of active and inactive case records of the staff and focus groups with stakeholders (e.g. management team, advisory committees including police and probation officers, faith leaders, and local service providers). Qualitative data will help us review program inputs and program activities. This data also will provide an important understanding of the questionnaire data and program outcomes. Quarterly and annual reports of the evaluation will be shared with CeaseFire to help improve the program over the course of the pilot project.