Mayor Mattie Parker | City of Fort Worth website
Mayor Mattie Parker | City of Fort Worth website
To reduce youth gun violence in Tarrant County, United Way of Tarrant County hired Samuel J. Varner as program director of the One Second Collaborative and named members of the Collaborative’s community-based steering committee.
About the Collaborative: Launched in December 2022, the One Second Collaborative is an evidence-based approach to addressing youth violence. The Collaborative unites and coordinates community-based organizations that deliver street outreach, education, workforce training, internships, referrals for basic needs and other support to young people and their families.
United Way of Tarrant County, the Fort Worth Police Department, the City of Fort Worth, Tarrant County and other community stakeholders make up the Collaborative. Financial support comes from American Rescue Plan Act funds administered by Tarrant County and the City of Fort Worth.
What they’re saying: “I am pleased to see the infrastructure is in place to officially begin program implementation on this important initiative, because we know this is vital to addressing the gun violence impacting Fort Worth youth right now,” Mayor Mattie Parker said. “There are organizations across the county who have been working independently to make a difference, but there is power in numbers. The One Second Collaborative is just that – a unified, proven collaborative approach to address the youth gun violence in our community.”
Why it’s needed: Gun violence became the leading cause of deaths among teens in 2020, surpassing motor vehicles, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention and the New England Journal of Medicine. Across the United States, teen shooting deaths have risen nearly 50%. In Tarrant County, Black teens are being disproportionately shot and killed.
What happens now? Varner will coordinate training and education. He will work with stakeholders to create impactful partnerships to reduce youth violence.
The One Second Collaborative staff also includes Roger Foggle, a community advocate and experienced violence interrupter, and Christine Kuehn, whose background includes serving as a Stay-in-School specialist in the Fort Worth ISD and a juvenile probation officer.
One Second Collaborative Steering Committee
Original source can be found here.
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