Lawrence has several consistent focus areas as determined by data on violent crime incidents. The city is one of Massachusetts’ top five cities for firearm homicides based on reporting between 2012 and 2016. Gun violence also affects the youth population. In 2015, Lawrence was one of the top 5 cities in non-fatal firearm injuries for youth, reporting an average of 120 assault-related injuries per 100,000 youth. This trend is increasing. In 2020 there were 24 fatal and non-fatal shootings; in 13 of those shootings, the victim was between 17-25.  

Lawrence is the center of the northeastern opioid trade. The city is located adjacent to two interstate highways and is a hub for moving large quantities of opioids. Further complicating the situation are the 25 active gang sets, including the two in the focus area of the Stadium Projects neighborhood.  

Stadium Projects, a low-income housing department, has long been a distressed neighborhood plagued by serious and violent crime, disproportionately high compared to the city overall. This area has remained a focus area not only for violent crime but also for firearms-related incidents. The Stadium Projects are in the Lower Tower Hill section of Lawrence, one of the poorer areas of the city, lacking parks, significant greenspace, and with limited access to public transportation. The area suffers from a substandard housing stock, a preponderance of investor ownership, and a long-standing reputation for drug dealing and gang activity. UTEC practitioners report that neighbors are often afraid to cooperate with police out of fear of retaliation from local gangs, exacerbating public safety issues. This neighborhood was also selected because it’s the only area where the city’s two major gang sets, the Trinitarios and Gangsta Disciples (GDs), are co-located. The neighborhood also has assets, such as the residential community, nearby churches, the Boys and Girls Club on Water Street, the Market Basket grocery store, and other mainstream small businesses along Essex Street.  

During the Planning Phase the UTEC team plans to: 

• Identify key levers of violence and crime in the community.  

• Share information about gang shot-callers, gang activity, and other incidents of violence in Stadium Projects.  

• Partner with the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, Probation and Parole, to identify and engage those young adults behind the walls, or on community supervision, who are returning to Stadium Projects as high-impact influencers with respect to gang and criminal activity.  

• Verify identified levers of violence with data showing correlations between these levers and violence in the community.  

• Promote peacemaking UTEC Streetworkers to build relationships with community members, especially gang members and those involved in criminal activity.  

• Engage the leaders of rival gang sets to gain agreement to facilitate decreased criminal activity (as measured by crime records), peacemaking activities, and truces.  

• Conduct outreach and in-reach to build positive relationships. UTEC’s Streetworkers will provide intensive street outreach, gang peacemaking, and “in-reach” in correctional facilities with youth involved in perpetrating crime in the community.  

• Increase recruitment into UTEC programming and engage proven-risk young adults in UTEC programming. UTEC will provide real-world employment experience through multiple social enterprises: mattress recycling, food services, and woodworking.  

• Assign a street worker to the Stadium Projects neighborhood to conduct regular street outreach, focusing on young adults and gang activity but engaging all residents through strategies ranging from door-knocking to barbecues.  

The goal of this project is to reduce violent crime in the Stadium Projects area by focusing on young adults ages 17-25 and enhance the community and law enforcement relationship and bolster collective efficacy. To achieve these goals, the grantee site and its project partners, will implement the following strategies: 

• Anti-Violence Community Responses: UTEC engages young adults and residents to organize community responses when violent activities occur in the geographic focus area. 
• Participation in Transitional Employment: Streetworkers provide transitional employment opportunities for youth in UTEC's mattress recycling program to help reduce recidivism. Streetworkers also leverage this opportunity to engage gang leaders in the program.
• Focus Area Policing: Lawrence Police Department (LPD) draws upon evidence-based techniques to support their work to increase patrols in areas of crime and disorder. 
• Weekly Meetings Between UTEC and Law Enforcement: UTEC and LPD meet weekly to discuss focus areas and crime trends. These meetings provide Streetworkers with information to make contact and build relationships with young adults engaged in violence. UTEC also meets with jail staff weekly to facilitate peace circles in the local county jail to connect and share information that may result in violent retaliation. 
• Conducting a Needs Assessment: To elevate the voices of Stadium Projects residents and better understand their needs, UTEC will conduct a needs assessment. Once the assessment is complete, the UTEC evaluation team will analyze the data and compile a report to describe common trends. 

Lawrence Police Department, Essex County Sheriff’s Department, Probation and Parole