Letting love be our guide!
“Rise Up 4 Change” is a 501(c) 3 non-profit educational program that works closely with disadvantaged/homeless youth to give our younger generation a more meaningful way to make positive choices and decisions, sense of purpose, family communication, and self- efficacy. We’re building relationships with community leaders, parents, collaborating with other non-profit organizations and dignitaries to ensure our youth are not forgotten or left behind.
A Leading Cause of Death Among Young People
Gun violence is the leading cause of death among children, teens, and young adults under the age of 25, taking the lives of over 10,000 young people in 2020 alone. When young people are shot and killed, they lose decades of potential: the potential to grow up, have a family, contribute to society, and pursue their passions in life. These losses are felt across neighborhoods and communities. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, Firearms were the leading cause of death for children and teen ages 1-19, prematurely taking the lives of 4,357 young people. Black children and teens face alarmingly high rates of gun victimization. More than half of all black teens (15-19) who died in 2020---a staggering 52%--were killed by gun violence.
Despite the enormous toll of gun violence, scant attention and only minimal funding are allocated to prevent the leading cause to death. We must treat gun violence with the same urgency we have addressed Covid-19 and other public health crises. Every week we delay action on gun violence prevention, hundreds of young people--including children--are needlessly killed. South Florida and Miami-Dade have remained a chronic problem. Rise Up 4 Change Inc. works to address this crisis, providing scientific research evidence-based teaching to increase at risk-youth awareness of the danger involved and consequences of gun violence.
Our workshops and trainings are designed to empower our youth to become agents of social change. Our instructional workshops include: problem solving skills, character building, conflict resolution skills, breaking the cycle of violence, empathy, demonstrate improved resistance skills, self-efficacy, exploring the issues of power and control, self-esteem, social and emotional resilience, identity theft, bullying and social media impact on violence, the root cause of relationship violence, healthy relationships, healthy bodies and strong minds, domestic violence, texting and driving dangers, mentoring and tutoring etc.
Our workshops and trainings are held at four locations: Chapman Partnership in Homestead, Chapman Partnership North in Miami, Wilber B. Bell Park and Mercedes-Benz of Cutler Bay. Our staff consists of Law Enforcement Officers: Miami-Dade Police, Miami-Dade Corrections, Probation Officer, College Students, Educators, Parents and Volunteers.