Pima Prevention Partnership

Ken Walker
2525 E. Broadway, Suite 100
Tucson, AZ 85716
520-326-2528, ext. 104
kwalker@thepartnership.us

Building partnerships with young people, families and communities to improve their quality of life.

Vision:

The PPP AmeriCorps program works with people residing, going to school, and/or working in the 85705 zip code area to support individual and family economic stability, improve safety, and reduce crime. The PPP AmeriCorps program builds partnerships with neighborhood associations, faith-based organizations, government entities, businesses, and schools that result in collaborative projects to improve the local quality of life.

History:

Pima Prevention Partnership (PPP) is a communitybased, non-profit organization established in 1991 by a multicultural coalition of leaders from local and county governments, human services, Native American tribes, law enforcement, business, and grassroots community groups. Currently PPP employs more than 80 full- and parttime employees who serve in four departments: Youth and Family Services, Clinical Services, Academic Services, Technical Services, and Administration. Through these departments and their professional staffs, PPP is able to serve local and state constituencies with a wide range of prevention, skill building, youth development, youth treatment, academic education, community development, grant writing and program evaluation services. Community service and civic involvement are hallmarks of PPP’s programs. For example, youth volunteers serving PPP’s Pima County Teen Court program have contributed more than 12,000 hours of service during the past twelve years. Furthermore, Pima Partnership High School, which is operated by PPP, requires students to contribute 90 hours of community service to graduate. To this end, PPHS teachers facilitate student advisory groups to identify, plan, and execute an annual service project. The PPP AmeriCorps project expands PPP’s capacity to serve the needs of the local community through collaborative projects to increase economic stability, improve safety, and reduce crime.

PPP AmeriCorps Projects

Public Safety:

AmeriCorps members are working with neighborhood associations, faith-based groups, government, schools and colleges, and businesses to conduct community service activities. These efforts lead to decreased crime and increased economic sufficiency of people who reside, work, or go to school in the 85705 zip code area. Sample projects include neighborhood clean ups, sidewalk house numbering, community crime prevention events, basic house repairs to prevent crime, and graffiti abatement.

Economic Self-sufficiency:

AmeriCorps Members AmeriCorps members are positioned to support students’ academic education.

Student Internships:

Members are working with the Career and Technical Education teacher to develop job sites for student internships and provide job coaching. In addition, this Member helps maintain the Career and Technical education files and databases.

An AmeriCorps member is helping to develop an agency-wide volunteer program, including updating volunteer recruitment and selection policies and practices, training materials, scheduling protocols, and creating recognition events.