SafERTeens

SafERteens

SafERteens is an evidence-based youth violence prevention intervention developed by the Michigan Youth Violence Prevention Center (YVPC), based at the University of Michigan. The SafERteens program has been extensively studied and is designed to be delivered to at-risk youth as part of routine care in the emergency room and in a variety of other healthcare settings.

In 2021, the organization received a five-year, Centers for Disease Control grant to study best practices for implementing SafERteens into five different healthcare sites in Muskegon and Kent counties.

Current SafERteens implementation sites in West Michigan include the Trinity Health-Muskegon Emergency Room, HealthWest, Hackley Community Care, Fruitport Family Medicine, Muskegon Pediatrics, PLC, and Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Our goal in undertaking this study, however, is not only to reduce youth and gun violence in Muskegon and Kent counties, Michigan, but also to develop best practices for implementing SafERteens into more communities across the State of Michigan and beyond.