Uniting to Prevent Targeted Violence
 
Uniting to Prevent Targeted Violence (UPTV) is a non-partisan program that will bring together 28 Pennsylvanians, known as Uniters, in Adams, Dauphin, Franklin, and York Counties to work across divides to prevent targeted violence. 

​UPTV will kick off in Gettysburg on February 18, 2023 and run through August 2024. All community members 18+ who live in the four counties are invited to apply to join the program.

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UPTV Program Goals:
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1. Build relationships across ideological, racial, and generational divides
2. Implement projects that reduce risks of targeted violence         
3. Raise our communities' awareness of targeted violence​​​

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Program Leadership
​UPTV is led by a team of seven people who live and work in Adams, Dauphin, Franklin, and York Counties. The program will be implemented by Urban Rural Action, a national grassroots movement that brings Americans together across divides to tackle our country's most urgent challenges, in collaboration with four local partner organizations:​

• CONTACT Helpline, a 24-hour, 7 days-a-week, listening, health and human service information and referral service;
• Just for Today Recovery & Veteran's Support Services, which offers recovery and reentry and veterans programs;
• Mediation Services of Adams County, which provides conflict resolution services; and
• Suicide Prevention of York, which empowers communities to prevent suicide.

We will also work closely with our media literacy partner, News Literacy Project, which will share with us the skills needed to be smart consumers of news and engage productively in our communities.

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​Program Overview
​UPTV has four phases. During each phase, the cohort gathers in person for relationship-building, skill-building, dialogue, analysis, project design, and/or project implementation.

aPPLY by 12/16/22 to become a pennsylvania uniter

Targeted Violence Prevention Projects with Community Partners
Uniters will work on teams, each with a community partner, to implement a targeted violence prevention project that (1) addresses risk factors identified by the group, and (2) advances a goal of the partner organization. A budget of $10,000 will support each project.

Below are possible starting points for projects that each Uniters team will design with their community partner: 
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●   CONTACT Helpline: expand and/or strengthen CONTACT Helpline resources, information, and referrals and/or emotional listening support services relating to targeted violence in Dauphin, Franklin, and/or York
●   Just for Today Recovery & Veteran's Support Services: expand and/or strengthen PTSD Veteran Recovery Support program in Dauphin and/or York
●   Mediation Services of Adams County: increase de-escalation techniques in volatile situations and/or expand restorative justice in Adams County to enhance protective factors like repaired relationships and/or transform toxic online discourse into more constructive engagement.
●   Suicide Prevention of York: expand suicide survivor support groups, reduce mental health stigma, and/or broaden critical incident training to address “suicides by cop.”

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Interested in Joining Us?  
If you are interested in working across divides to address risk factors for targeted violence, then this program is for you! Space will be very limited, and participants must apply through our two-step process:

• Step 1: Complete online application by December 16, 2022.
• Step 2: Participate in a brief Zoom interview with two members of the UPTV team.

Have Questions or Want More Information?  

• Check out our FAQ!
  
• Attend an Information Session on Zoom on November 17 @ 5:30 pm ET and/or December 8 @ 5:30 pm ET (email our Chief of Staff, Logan Grubb, at logan@uraction.org for a meeting invitation and Zoom link), and/or
• ​Email your program questions to our Chief of Staff, Logan Grubb, at logan@uraction.org.

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Apply by 12/16/2022 to become a Pennsylvania Uniter

UPTV Core Team

We are the team that will be leading UPTV from start to finish. We can't wait to connect with you! Get to know us a bit below. 

This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, opportunity number DHS-22-TTP-132-00-01.