More than 877,000 young people ages 10 to 24 were injured in violent incidents in 2002. Today, homicide is the second leading cause of death for all American young people. Fifteen young people are murdered each day, on average.

At this policy briefing, the “Power of Family, School, and Community Connectedness in Reducing Youth Violence,” three scholars who have studied youth violence presented their findings and viewpoints on remedying the situation.

Dr. Michael Resnick, Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at the University of Minnesota, began by discussing some of the findings in the new “Power of Protective Factors in Reducing Youth Violence” report.

“The large body of research on violence risk factors for adolescents is now being joined by a number of studies that identify the factors, experiences and events that protect against violence involvement,” according to the report.

Dr. Tina Cheng, Chief of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, spoke next. She mentioned her involvement with the Take Charge mentoring program in Washington, D.C. and in Baltimore, Maryland. The program works directly with youth who are affected by violence. She explained that mentors with the program are sometimes able to help kids open up about their situations.

“We need more research on how to apply different programs to different communities,” she added. “We don’t have a ‘magic bullet’ prevention program. The media is good at showing the violence, but not the complexities of prevention.”

Dr. Angela Diaz, Director of the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center, was the final speaker. She detailed a New York-based program that she is involved with, which looks closely at the ties between sexual abuse and youth violence.

Resnick closed by suggesting a dual strategy for going forward in this field: diminishing risk, and increasing prevention. He said that the research is out there that allows for prevention strategies to be put in place. “Policy needs to support this,” he added.