AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — A program in Aurora is trying to combat gun violence by giving young people resources in the community to keep them alive.
Aurora Standing Against Violence Every Day, commonly known as Aurora SAVE, was awarded a nearly $2 million federal grant from the Department of Justice to help with that mission over the next three years.
In the last 13 months since Aurora SAVE became operational, organizers have selected about 125 youth who need help.
“We’ve done what we call custom notifications to about 125 folks," said Lisa Battan, Aurora SAVE Program Manager, "Within that, only about 10-15% are still engaged in services."
The average age of youth being helped is 18 years old. While program leaders say they have seen some success they say there's still more work to do to get the word out about the program.
“We know on the law enforcement side that if we only focus on arrest and incarcerations we’re not solving the gun violence problem," said Mike Hanifin, Aurora police captain.
A year ago Hanifin and Battan began working with community partners to find youth between the ages of 13-25 most at risk of resorting to gun violence.
"Aurora SAVE is about getting ahead of it through intervention and prevention trying to provide that off-ramp," Hanifin said.
Organizers connect youth to services and resources.
“Do you need job development classes? Do you need life skills? Do you need an intergenerational approach and family therapy? Anything the youth can think of that might be helpful to them," said Battan.
The need is clear. The announcement of the grant came a week after an 18-year-old was shot and killed in a shoot-out with Aurora police after officers said he held his mother hostage and then shot at a group of officers.
"The goal is to significantly reduce the number of fatal and non-fatal shootings, and this strategy is very much a marathon, not a sprint," said Hanifin. "You have to build relationships with these individuals. You can’t just show up at the door have a 20-minute conversation and expect big change. It’s about relationship building and it takes time."
Several agencies are coming together for one goal to keep youth alive, safe and free.
“Aurora SAVE delivers a double message. First, it’s empathy. We’ll help you if you let us," said Hanifan. "Second, it's accountability. We’ll stop you if you make us. "So when we go to the home it’s a representation of community because the Aurora SAVE program was created for community by community.”
“We’re looking at what causes the gun violence," Battan said. "What’s causing the group violence, we're never going to be effective. It really does take a multi-prong approach between police, community, social services and public health. All of these different agencies coming together.”
Aurora SAVE leaders are also working with the University of Colorado Boulder to do an independent evaluation of the strategy to look at the data to see if it is truly working. Organizers say right now it's too soon to tell right now.
When FOX31 reported another teen shooting at an Aurora apartment complex, Aurora police said in 2020 that there were a total of 19 juvenile shootings. In 2021 there were 43, with three being deadly. In 2022, the agency reported a total of 46, with three being deadly. Last year, 53 juvenile shootings killed five people.
You can find more information about Aurora SAVE through its website.
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