S.T.R.O.N.G. Community

Community engagement activities

S.T.R.O.N.G. hosts community engagement activities, Peace Marches and Rallies to commemorate the lives, families, friends and community of gang violence victims and in effort to build cohesiveness and awareness of important issues impacting our communities.

S.T.R.O.N.G. Peace Rallies and Marches, in addition to STRONG Talks, was how S.T.R.O.N.G. Youth initially got started back in 2000. Hundreds, even thousands, of community members and activities would come out to create awareness to the youth, gang and gun violence that plagues communities of color throughout Long Island and served as calls to action for all. Peace marches and rallies have been held on Nassau Road between Freeport and Hempstead, Zion Cathedral in Freeport and Kennedy Park in Hempstead.

S.T.R.O.N.G. has also hosted Victims Impact Panel (VIP) meetings. VIP meetings are interactive and in depth exploratory conversations about the impact of violence on our communities that include victims and offenders, youth, families, school administration, and community stakeholders. The goal of VIP meetings is to share thoughts and experiences and develop solutions on how we can work together to build safer communities and stop the cycle of violence.

🗺️ See where our marches took place on our programs map.

The Chapters Program is articulated around :

Group workshops to address topics such as peer associations, decision making, anger management, respect, community responsibility, empathy, truancy, the value of academics, goal setting, and others. Group work is complemented by one-on-one counseling, advocacy with school personnel, parental engagement, home visits, and referral to additional services when needed.

Community service projects and school-wide campaigns to increase awareness of the challenges many families and communities are facing and focus on developing youth’s civic engagement and leadership and team-building skills so they can become active agents of change.
After school activities and experiential trips to reinforce and reward goal achievement and positive behavior.

This is the original flyer of our Victims Impact Panel back in 204

Discover our other programs

Working with "at-risk"* students, their families, and schools to alleviate academic and behavioral challenges

Combining food and community with hands-on education on farming and mindfulness for children and adults

Giving workshops, assemblies and professional development sessions

Promoting positive identity formation, development of higher stages of moral reasoning and providing youth with the skills and support they need