"Peace Accord" (Acuerdo de Paz) will keep steering at-risk male youth from gang violence rooted in a vengeance mindset that resulted in 42 deaths in 2011. Through initiatives such as community basketball games, home-based education, and trade workshops, we have reduced those deaths more than 90% and have created a culture of communication and direct contact with the community, mediating between groups at war and teaching them that peace is possible and attainable.
In 2011, 42 men -most of them younger than 25- died in vengeance-motivated killings deeply rooted in Loiza's culture. Worsened by lack of work opportunities and low schooling, these men saw violence as a solution to their problems, leaving a trail of shattered families, particularly women that claimed for help after watching their sons and husbands die.
Understanding that keeping the peace is a feminist issue, Taller Salud works to transform young men's mindset of violence, promoting a culture of peace and showing the way to positive development. Through "Peace Accord" -modeled after "Cure Violence"- we have reached inside the community as agents of peace and violence interrupters, pushing at-risk men to finish their studies, find jobs and open, peaceful communication.
This project seeks to keep educating young men in profitable trades, such as gypsum board installation, building a job center that will allow them to gain clients and experience and, eventually, branch out into their own businesses.
