Positive alternatives for young people
We know that breaking the cycle of community violence starts with youth.
Safe Communities’ work is particularly focused on improving outcomes for young people who are at risk of experiencing community violence, with a focus on those between 10 and 24 years old.
Hennepin County supports local providers that specialize in community-based prevention and intervention work. We work with partners, who are chosen in a competitive process, to offer a variety of services and programs in the community.
Human trafficking prevention and supports for survivors
The No Wrong Door program connects victims and survivors of sexual exploitation and human trafficking with safe places to live, heal and rebuild their lives, while also working to prevent trafficking through education and other services. With internal and contracted partners, we work to meet each young person’s needs, where they are, in the way best suited for them.
Hennepin County has formal contracts with community-based agencies, some of which we share with the Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitations (DOCCR).
We also have many informal partnerships within Hennepin County. In addition to DOCCR, we collaborate with Child Protection, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the Security Division, and Child Welfare — which also includes a unit dedicated to serving sexually exploited youth.
Learn more about No Wrong Door.
A career booster for young people at-risk
The No. 1 predictor of future success in the workforce is early exposure to work experience, according to Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
Safe Communities works across Hennepin County and with our community partners to offer access to internships, apprenticeships, job shadowing and short-term trainings for young people who are most likely to be at risk of gun violence.
Connections for at-risk youth
The Youth Connection Center, a collaboration with Minneapolis Public Schools and the City of Minneapolis, offers a 24/7 safe place for law enforcement to bring young people they come into contact with when they don’t have an immediate family contact or other place to go. This voluntary program offers an opportunity to try to get to the root of what’s not working for young people who are just beginning to have interactions with law enforcement for low-level offenses such as curfew violations and truancy.
The program offers services to give young people a focus outside of criminal activity, and expose them to a consistent, stable adult.