We want to give you a glimpse inside the coordination of a non-arrest crime intervention project led by community young people. It is called the Corner Greeter project and RBAC operates it on behalf of the Rainier Beach A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth initiative. The CG’s have been at the forefront of activating spaces in Rainier Beach that have experienced a high number of incidents that contribute to youth crime since 2015. To prepare for the activation events the CG’s hold a weekly event check in meeting, a well being check in meeting, and study the youth and neighborhood engagement playbook. The event check-in meeting typically involves a well-being check in and check in question, debriefing the previous week’s experience by doing a “plus/delta” exercise and having roles assigned. The “plus/delta” exercise allows workers to identify the positive elements of their role from the previous week and the elements within their role they would change. Recently an adjustment was made due to the need to accelerate learning. The approach taken was to focus on goals. We started by asking people their personal goals and turned to identifying goals for the distinct role a typical Corner Greeter event must have to operate with fidelity, that is, there must be an information table, beautification (litter pickup), safety surveys, nutrition and FreedomNet social media post. Over time we will share the ongoing results of this exercise but today we just want to share what some of the young adult workers identified as their personal goals. to graduate high school, college, operate a small business (food truck); to graduate high school, stay focused – not stress myself out; to get accepted to a four-year college, go through running start; to know enough people so my business can be more vast – get some of the game from them; finish college, pass classes and get good grades, get pro pictures to model for “clothing”; 1 million views, well connected in the music and financial industry; to enroll in and finish college; to grow savings (double); to be spiritually enlightened; $10M for Food Innovation Center
