History
Safe Passages, founded in 1998, was one of five sites across the country that was selected to participate in the national Urban Health Initiative (UHI) funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Each of the UHI campaigns focused on collaboration and systems change to improve the health and safety of young people in urban communities. The other cities chosen were Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Richmond.
Between 1998 and 2002, the strategic plan for the Safe Passages initiative evolved to focus on four strategies to reduce the effects of exposure to violence on children and youth in Oakland during critical stages in their lives: an Early Childhood Strategy for children 0-5 exposed to violence, a Middle School Strategy targeting specific middle schools sites in Oakland, Pathways to Change, a targeted intervention strategy for repeat youth offenders, and the After School Strategy, to address the need for more quality after-school programs in Oakland.
Between 2000 and 2002, Safe Passages launched these strategies and established a stable, cohesive Board of Directors to oversee the initiative. The Safe Passages Board of Directors includes elected county, city, and school district officials, as well as agency directors, high level administrators, and community leaders. Today over 65 governmental agencies, community service providers, schools, early childhood centers, and philanthropic organizations work together under the Safe Passages umbrella to design, fund, implement, and evaluate programs for poor and vulnerable families in Oakland, particularly those exposed to community violence.
The tremendous accomplishments made by the strategies in Oakland, led the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to expand its support to Safe Passages for an additional year past the sunset of the Urban Health Initiative in 2006.
To institutionalize the unprecedented partnership, the Board of Safe Passages also decided to create a sustainable organizational structure now embodied in the Youth Ventures Joint Powers Authority. This new entity will not only continue to serve residents of the City of Oakland but it would also expand the efforts to other high need communities within the County of Alameda.
Furthermore, the Board of Safe Passages also voted to create a non-profit arm to further diversify programmatic and funding opportunities for the work.
Today, Safe Passages exists as two entities working cohesively to advocate for children, youth, and families with a special emphasis on vulnerable populations within the County of Alameda. The two entities are:
- Safe Passages, 501(c)(3)
- Youth Ventures, Joint Powers Authority