COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Firearms are now the leading cause of death for Colorado children, and local organizations are stepping up to prevent tragedies before they happen.
Joint Initiatives for Youth and Families (JI), a nonprofit serving communities across the Pikes Peak region, works with children from early childhood through high school to provide support, mentorship and guidance for both youth and their families.
The organization focuses on preventing delinquency and violence while helping young people build positive relationships and life skills.
A new $45,000 grant from the Colorado Safe Futures Fund will allow JI to expand its Pathways program, which mitigates trauma by diverting youth from risky situations.
The Colorado Safe Futures Fund, launched by the Rose Community Foundation and the Colorado Health Foundation, supports community-led programs across the state aimed at preventing firearm-related injuries and deaths.
“We find that when youth have positive relationships and when they have a purpose in life, they’re not very likely to get involved in criminal activity,” says SherryLynn Boyles, president of JI. “We bring different agencies together to wrap around a young person and their family, and this grant allows us to provide longer-term, specialized support.”
JI currently serves about 1,000 youth in the region, including 300 students at Galileo Middle School and hundreds more through referrals. Students "work with staff to set goals and develop personalized plans with a 90% success rate of completing them," added Boyles.
Part of the intervention happens in schools, where trust is key. Sergeant Ronnie Tony with the Colorado Springs Police Department Community Relations Unit, who spent more than seven years as a school resource officer, says relationships between students and trusted adults can make all the difference.
“You wouldn’t believe how many students come up to the SROs at schools and just give us information because they trust us,” he explains.
For parents like Krystal Hahnebom, programs like JI’s provide peace of mind. Her third grader witnessed a classmate pull out a knife and stab a desk.
“It terrified my younger son,” she recalls. “Immediately went out and got somebody… You just really got to listen. They need resources, they need those trusted people. I want to know that my kid is safe at the school or when I’m not around.”
The grant will help JI provide support to about 100 more youth starting this spring, giving them access to mentors, peer support and services that can change the trajectory of their lives.
By combining community-based interventions, school partnerships, and family support, JI hopes to continue giving children a different pathway, one focused on safety, guidance and opportunity.
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