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The Manchester Blueprint for Violence Prevention is a set
of comprehensive recommendations to create a safer, more
resident-driven and involved community. The Blueprint is a framework to identify the range of roles and partnerships in which key stakeholders can contribute, and the model programs and local promising practices that can prevent violence with the greatest impact. Given the complexity
of issues, policies, and systems that promote or prevent violence, success requires an action plan that coordinates, supports, and strengthens a range of efforts. Since the
cost of delay is too high in terms of risk, pain, suffering,
and premature death, its focus is to address problems
before violence occurs. This is known as primary prevention. Moreover, the Blueprint emphasizes community-wide or “environmental” outcomes and addresses all forms of violence, spanning across all ages, sectors of community
and neighborhoods.

This report is the culmination of a ten-year initiative to “weed out” crime, drug abuse and gang activity in designated high-crime neighborhoods while “seeding in” community involvement and needed services. In April of 2010, the Manchester Weed & Seed (W&S) Strategy convened a Community Meeting for Violence Prevention to provide a forum for facilitated brainstorming and “outside of the box” thinking around community responsibility for preventing violence and increasing quality of life for all Manchester residents. As a result, more than 100 community members and organizations have contributed to the Blueprint’s content, all of which are listed inside the front cover on the Acknowledgements page. The Manchester Blueprint for Violence Prevention is written for area residents and leaders who believe in the vision of Manchester as “a community which has clean, safe and crime-free neighborhoods for all by encouraging mutual respect and consideration for others, promoting education attainment, and fostering opportunities for community engagement”.

Included in the report are:

• Definitions for violence, violence prevention, risk and resilience factors;
• Chapters for indicators of violence in the community including primary, secondary, tertiary victimization and perception of neighborhood safety;
• A description of how the Manchester Blueprint for Violence Prevention was developed;
  Recommendations for educators, youth-serving organizations, businesses, worksites, health care and social service providers, residents, neighborhood improvement efforts, government officials and policy makers;
• Next steps to realizing the vision of a violence-free community.

As with “Believe in a Healthy Community: Greater Manchester Area Community Needs Assessment”, the Manchester Blueprint for Violence Prevention is not an endpoint, but a beginning.

If you have questions about any of the information listed above, please contact the W&S Strategy Coordinator, Shell McCorkle, at 628-6003 ext. 468 or mmccorkle@manchesternh.gov.