VI. Sustainability of an Initiative

The Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP) began in 2009 to stop the violence in the City of Salinas. The coalition meets twice each month and is still going strong, averaging about 45 members and participants per meeting. The City of Salinas employs the Director of CASP, who also serves as the Community Safety Administrator, as well as other staff dedicated to reducing and preventing violence. CASP, its members and the City’s commitment to violence prevention, intervention and enforcement are the basic elements essential to sustaining this very successful Initiative.

Sustainability planning identifies what resources and core functions are essential to achieve a particular mission. Since the mission is to reduce and prevent violence, then best practice suggests that a multisector coalition like CASP is necessary to achieving this mission. The coalition requires staff and an organizational structure for support. This backbone and convening of interested agencies around a shared goal is critical to the success of a collective impact approach. The Director of CASP convenes the meetings, staff send out meeting announcements and maintain a roster of members, and the Salinas City Elementary School District provides a meeting space. With the exception of the meeting room, the City provides these resources and funds a significant portion of this Initiative.

CASP members are “a coalition of the willing.” The programs and services that CASP participants represent do not receive funding from the City of Salinas, as in larger cities such as San José. Members network at meetings, learn about other programs, and form partnerships. Strategic partnerships support sustainability and bring resources to achieve the mission. But what sustains participation in the coalition? A shared vision and commitment to stopping violence? Support from partners engaged in this same difficult, but rewarding work? An interest in changes and the forces at play in the community that might affect their work? Access to leaders, including the Mayor and a member of the County Board of Supervisors? To maintain the power of the CASP members and participants who do the work of violence reduction and prevention, annual assessments should be conducted to keep coalition attendees engaged.

In addition to funding CASP staff, the City demonstrates its commitment to reducing and preventing violence within its organizational structure. The City Department of Recreation and Community Services is a primary driver of prevention in Salinas through Parks, Recreation, Libraries, Sports and Neighborhood Services. Law enforcement, in partnership with residents, makes Salinas safer through community policing, violence suppression and getting illegal firearms off the street. The Community Engagement and Partnerships Division coordinates CalVIP grants awarded to CASP members to do the work of violence reduction and prevention.

Sustainability of this Initiative requires staff, funding, organizational capacity and partnerships. The availability of these resources is not guaranteed and requires support from the City, County, State and CASP member agencies to ensure sustainability.