Finley Center  
City of Santa Rosa  
2060 W. College Ave.  
Senior Wing Auditorium  
Santa Rosa Violence Prevention  
Partnership  
Regular Meeting Minutes - Draft  
Wednesday, September 20, 2023  
9:00 AM  
9:00 A.M.  
1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS  
Meeting called to order at 9:00 am  
2. PUBLIC COMMENT  
None.  
3. VIOLENCE PREVENTION PARTNERSHIP UPDATES  
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Staffing:  
o
Gustavo Mendoza is no longer with the City of Santa Rosa; he is now with  
Santa Rosa City Schools. Congratulations, Gustavo! The Partnership is in the  
process of determining next steps with the recruitment for the vacant  
Community Outreach Specialist position.  
o
Rogelio Roman joined The Partnership team as the new Wraparound  
Coordinator. He is responsible for coordinating the Guiding People  
Successfully (GPS) referral program.  
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Grant Updates:  
There is still no word from the Bureau of Justice Assistance or the California  
o
Department of Social Services on the grant applications submitted for the  
Safe School Intervention Program and the Crisis Response Team and  
Hospital-Based Intervention Program. Notices should be received by the end  
of September.  
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Communications, Outreach and Education Update:  
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The annual Violence Prevention Awareness Seminar will return this year on  
Thursday, November 2, 2023 from 8am-4pm. Registration will be open soon.  
Staff is working on developing a plan for monthly community wellness  
pop-up events.  
o
CHOICE Grant Program:  
The Partnership has begun the process of updating the CHOICE Grant  
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Program in preparation for Cycle 12. The goal is to have a Request for  
Proposals ready to launch by April 2024.  
4. SCHEDULED ITEMS  
4.1 CLIMATE UPDATE  
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SRPD reported that youth arrests are up 110% since this time last year compared  
to adult arrests up 10%.  
There has also been a slight increase in gang related cases with felony assaults  
between 2022 and 2023.  
There were 12 homicides in 2022; so far this year, there have been 8 homicides, 4  
of which were gang related.  
Probation reported that most juveniles in system are 14- and 15-year-olds, on  
gang-related charges and gun possession charges. The District Attorney’s (DA)  
Office are also seeing a similar trend for prosecutions.  
The DA’s Office is working on improving their data tracking system and have  
been engaged by local schools for prevention programming.  
The Public Defender’s Office is bringing an attorney on board to focus on  
juvenile cases.  
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Overall agreement across sectors that parents are not understanding issues  
surrounding gang involvement and behavioral challenges facing youth.  
4.2  
PRESENTATION - MAN 2 MAN: URBAN YOUTH ADVOCATE  
Item cancelled due to presenter being absent  
5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS  
No items discussed  
Public comment:  
Member of the public expressed the need to hold Spanish speaking  
only classes and community meetings for parents.  
6. ADJOURNMENT  
Meeting adjourned at 10:30 am  
The City of Santa Rosa does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admissions or access to, or treatment of or  
employment in, its programs or activities. Disability-related aids or services, including printed information in alternate formats, to  
enable persons with disabilities to participate in public meetings are available by calling (707) 543-4676 one week prior to the  
meeting. (TTY Relay at 711).  
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of this meeting body prior to this meeting regarding any item on this agenda  
are available for public review in the City Clerk's Office, Room 10, City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Avenue, during normal business  
hours.