A year after Federal Way’s Violence Prevention Coalition Steering Committee made recommendations to the city council, efforts to reduce violence are still under way.

The idea of a violence prevention committee emerged in February 2016 after the murder of 16-year-old Wesley Gennings. The idea increased in urgency that May after three people were murdered in 48 hours in Federal Way.

The committee made 10 recommendations, which the City Council adopted last fall: support a community-centered bystander awareness project; provide an incentive to city employees and residents to become volunteers and become mentors; support the creation and expansion of social/emotional learning to more schools, after school programs and other youth organizations; explore opening a “one-stop” community resource center for youth and young adults; support a comprehensive job training program for youth; add more after-school programs in the city; institute restorative justice practices as a city initiative to reduce crime and violence; incentivize and encourage residents to use a gun safe and lock up firearms; expand youth substance abuse treatment in Federal Way to reduce barriers; and dedicate city staff time or create a position to execute the recommendations brought by the Violence Prevention Coalition steering committee, as well as identify additional partnerships and recommendations.

“There has actually been progress made on each of the recommendations,” said Doug Baxter, committee chair and community integration program manager at CHI Franciscan Health, at Tuesday’s council meeting. “I would say that we are not fully satisfied with the progress we have, but we have gotten farther than we thought we would have this time last year.”

Some of the areas of success include creating a job training program for youth. The Youth Employment Support (YES) Network is a product of the recommendations that offered a five-session job training program to more than 25 students at Todd Beamer High School. The program will culminate with a districtwide job fair from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, at Todd Beamer.

Efforts to provide gun storage to residents is another area where progress has been made. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 12, there will be a gun storage giveaway at Sportsman’s Warehouse, 1405 S. 348th St. There will be 350 lock boxes, 50 trigger locks and 600 cable locks distributed.

Another area of growth is the opening of the WAPI Community Services office in north Federal Way to provide substance abuse treatment for youth.

“When we were going through this process, if you were a youth going through substance abuse challenges, you could not get treatment inside Federal Way city limits,” Baxter said, adding he hopes more organizations expand their services to the city.

Creating a one-stop resource center is one area where progress can continue to be made, Baxter said. There have been discussions with the REACH Center in Tacoma about bringing its model to Federal Way, he said.

“This is something that I think would solve a lot of problems in Federal Way,” he said. “Right now if you are a youth, like a 19-year-old and they need a job, a GED and other assistance, we have to have you go to Federal Way, a place in Renton and a place in Auburn.”

Even though the coalition hasn’t met since last year, community efforts continue, Baxter said.

“We want to see it move forward and be successful, and we want this to be a community where kids feel safe and they can grow up and thrive and be successful,” he said.