BALTIMORE, MD (Monday, January 29, 2024) – The new Urban Conflict Manager Program (UCMP) began on January 25th, 2024, with twenty participants from Safe Streets Baltimore including site directors and frontline violence interrupters in person at The University of Baltimore campus. The Urban Conflict Manager Program is co-sponsored by the City of Baltimore’s Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) and The University of Baltimore’s Schaefer Center for Public Policy.
This program is designed to provide Safe Streets Baltimore leaders, staff, and community violence intervention partners a unique professional development opportunity that will enhance their knowledge and practice of conflict management and resolution – including violence prevention and intervention – at various levels and specifically in the urban context.
During the launch event of the program, The University of Baltimore’s President Kurt Schmoke shared how important this program is to the university and to the City of Baltimore. “Programs like the Urban Conflict program are coming together creatively and putting together tactics and techniques to make sure this is just not an isolated time, but this is the direction that the community is going to be moving in over the next few years and it is going to make a big difference.”
Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement Director Stefanie Mavronis shared, “Baltimore has made progress changing the trajectory of violence in the city and that is work that we are here to double down on in the year ahead. This program is a part of that. It is about strengthening and building up what our Safe Streets Baltimore staff do every day, putting more tools in their toolkit to mediate conflicts and build safer communities across our city.”
Over the course of ten days, participants will expand their conflict management competencies in negotiation, mediation, group facilitation, dialogue processes, restorative practices, and conflict de-escalation. As well as broaden their understanding and assessment of urban conflict and violence dynamics and structures, using the trauma-informed and complex systems perspectives. Upon completion of the program participants will receive a certificate.
The William Donald Schaefer Center for Public Policy is Maryland’s preeminent applied research and policy analysis center. As part of the University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs, the Schaefer Center promotes excellence in Maryland’s public and nonprofit organizations through applied research, technical assistance, policy analysis, policy conferences, and professional development programs.
As the agency responsible for the implementation of the City’s public health approach to safety through Mayor Brandon M. Scott’s Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan, MONSE partners with Baltimore’s residents, community-based organizations, institutions, businesses, and agencies to stem the tide of violence, while simultaneously unearthing its root causes. MONSE’s portfolio includes Baltimore’s community violence intervention ecosystem, funding allocations for community-based organizations directly involved in the co-production of public safety, the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS), and victim services work.
To learn more about the Urban Conflict Manager Program visit the Schaefer Center website at: schaefercenter.ubalt.edu/urban-conflict-manager-program/
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