SafERteens
SafERteens is an evidence-based youth violence prevention intervention developed by the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center (YVPC), based at the University of Michigan. The SafERteens program has been extensively studied and is designed to be delivered to at-risk youth as part of routine care in the emergency room and in a variety of other healthcare settings.
In 2021, the organization received a five-year, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant to study best practices for implementing SafERteens into five different healthcare sites in Muskegon and Kent counties.
Current SafERteens implementation sites in West Michigan include the Trinity Health-Muskegon Emergency Room, Muskegon Pediatrics, and HealthWest Youth & Family Services. We hope to begin implementing SafERteens into the Fruitport Family Medicine Clinic later this year. Our goal in undertaking this study, however, is not only to reduce youth and gun violence in Muskegon County, Michigan, but also to develop best practices for implementing SafERteens into more communities across the State of Michigan and beyond.