Abstract
African American youth are directly and indirectly exposed to ongoing community violence which increases their risk for Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, depression, anxiety, underlying fear, expectations of becoming a victim, and expecting to die early. These risks can impede their development for becoming productive adults. The loss of potential can lead to the youth becoming perpetrators of crime. This project presents research on how the community is responding to the youth who are vicariously affected. It is important for communities to come together to create youth programs to help decrease exposure to the violence as well as help increase resiliency characteristics. The resiliency characteristics include good relationships with family, teachers, and peers, confidence in school performance, and the desire for a better life and future. Recommendations are made for effective community level interventions.
