ABAN AYA Sustainability Project

The purpose of the Sustaining Aban Aya Youth Project is to sustain an effective school-based violence prevention program. Aban Aya is based on a public health approach to violence prevention, utilizing curricula and community-building to reduce risk-taking behaviors among African-American Adolescents. Our sustainability project continues the Aban Aya intervention with targeted 5th graders and expands the intervention to include a pilot teacher intervention during fiscal year 2001. We will continue our collaboration in four Chicago area elementary schools. These collaborating partners help recruit teachers to instruct the Aban Aya curriculum, provide space for teaching and training activities, and earmark funds for sustaining the program at one grade level. The muliyear plan for sustaining Aban Aya reflects a collaborative approach to violence prevention that systematically transfers control of the program to our partner schools.