The Community, Family and Youth Resilience program (CFYR) in Eastern and Southern Caribbean is turning to local youth to collect valuable data about their communities while also empowering them with new skills.
 
Using a phone app and an open-source mapping platform, youth mappers are collecting information about the assets around them and building a more complete picture of their neighborhoods. The data collected by these youth mappers will help the program and Community Enhancement Committees (CECs) – groups comprising local community leaders – better understand each community’s resources and tailor data-driven interventions. The information will also be used to target areas that are hotspots for crime and violence.
 
For the youth, the activity is a way to build technical skills, leadership, communication and community engagement while becoming empowered to contribute to local solutions that address violence. The youth are inputting the data into a public, open-source map platform that is accessible to anyone online and will give residents a more complete understanding of the resources around them.
 
With support from the program, CECs will design and implement plans to promote safety, make improvements to their communities, and develop initiatives to build resilience and reduce the risk of youth engaging in violence. They also provide important referral networks for youth to participate in the full range of program activities.
 
Communities have been getting to know their CECs at a string of launch celebrations, featuring skits, speeches and musical performances from youth.
 
The youth mappers will be included in follow-on work with CFYR, including data validation and working with the CECs to design and create activities based on community assets and hotspots.