By Paul Tuthill
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-975174.mp3
Springfield, MA – An organization that has claimed success in reducing youth violence in a troubled city in eastern Massachusetts has opened a new center in Springfield to work with high risk young people.. WAMC's Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports..
The non profit organization, called Roca, runs an intervention program for very high risk people ages 18 to 24 who have little or no education, have never held a job , have been in trouble with the law, and can't find a fit in any other program....Roca's executive director Molly Baldwin says the young people learn skills that can lead to employment and positive behavioral changes.
Baldwin says Roca actively recruits people into the program, and once in, they have a hard time leaving.
Roca's new five thousand square foot center in Springfield located just a block from the US District Court House, includes gym, a kitchen, a computer lab, and a recording studio. Baldwin says there are 50 people in the program already and another 25 will be brought in this summer.
21 year old Giovani Barbosa of Springfield who was in a gang, is now in the Roca program.
Roca, which derives its name from the Spanish word for rock, has operated in the city of Chelsea since 1988. Roca came to Springfield at the urging of Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe..
Roca's Springfield facility was dedicated Monday to the long time Hampden County Sheriff, and to his brother , Jay Ashe, a former superintendent in the Sheriff's department.
Roca is funded mostly through donations from foundations and such. There is some government money. Massachusetts awarded it a 200 thousand dollar grant from a job training program. It has also received federal Community Development Block Grant money through the city of Springfield.
Congressman Richard Neal said Roca's history is impressive.
Governor Deval Patrick has made youth violence a priority for his second term. Last week, the Governor signed a bill to provide ten million dollars in violence prevent grants. The money is to go to cities with the highest rates of youth violence. Springfield ranked second to Boston in youth murders in the state over the last five years, according to statistics kept by the Masschusetts State Police.