In May 2014, the Long Beach City Council adopted Safe Long Beach, a comprehensive violence prevention plan combining elements of My Brother’s Keeper and other youth development programs.
FUSE Fellow Veronica Njodinizeh helped the Office of the City Manager to develop an action plan to accomplish the initiative’s goals in a coordinated way, with an emphasis on boys and men of color. During the course of her fellowship, Veronica worked across sectors, departments, and organizations, convening and motivating stakeholders in order to align cause and action. The culmination of Veronica’s work came in July 2017, when she helped organize a two-and-a-half-day West Coast regional summit of My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, at which more than 300 participants from across the region attended in order to establish regional networks and design tangible next steps that advance equity. Veronica’s efforts will help cement the outcomes of the MBK Alliance initiative, keeping stakeholders accountable to their individual objectives, and leaving behind a governance structure to execute and carry on the work.
