Tenpoint
Embracing the Challenge
The Commitment
At the Boston Ten Point Coalition we are convinced that together we can end patterns of violence in Boston. To do this it is critically important for the health of Boston communities that faith-based institutions, leaders and representatives from all corners of our communities cooperate in city-wide crime reduction efforts and youth intervention. Read about our “Community Cluster Model” below to learn more about the innovative ways BTPC is partnering for a better future.
The Challenge
Boston is a city of great promise and prosperity, but also a city challenged by poverty and inequity. Amongst the 50 states, Massachusetts has ranked high in household inequality, and Boston in particular ranked high in inequality among 50 of the largest cities in the United States. In areas where these inequities are concentrated youth are at higher risk of adopting non-productive or even destructive behavior patterns. As a grassroots group BTPC serves youth living in Boston areas that contain pockets of poverty, as a result an overwhelming majority of the populations we serve; a.) are living at or below 125% of the federal poverty level or; B.) are living in public housing developments. A small yet significant portion of the youth we serve are “couch surfing” in friends’ homes and are homeless.
While the youth and neighborhoods we serve have strong, loving and resilient families, data shows that persistent violence can destabilize the fragile fabric of struggling communities. This is what makes the unique work of the Boston Ten Point Coalition so important. We address often overlooked and socially complex youth dangers that are gateways to conflict, and inequity. Our collective solutions uplifts community at its foundation and harnesses the human resources needed to address the multitude of challenges that impact the lives of our youth and communities.
The Impact
Our focus is our communities “troubled youth,” youth that other agencies most frequently are unable to serve.
We operate in collaboration with other community-based, governmental, and private sector institutions that are also committed to the revitalization of the families and communities in which our youth are raised.
Our capacity to serve is multi-layered and as an organization that is rooted in faith, we help to promote the notion of faith leadership going beyond the congregation to serve the broader community.
Tenpoint's History
In 1992, symptoms of rampant youth violence spreading through Boston caught the attention of leading Clergy and lay leaders when conflict erupted at the funeral of a young gun shot victim. A gang-related shooting and stabbing spilled into Morning Star Baptist Church turning the funeral service into a battleground.
Clergy and lay leaders responded by mobilizing the Greater Boston community to make violence prevention and youth reformation a higher priority both in church and in the larger community. That collective effort produced the intial Ten Point Plan, a detailed plan to redirect the lives of Black and Latino youth, especially those at high risk for violence, drug abuse, and other destructive behaviors.
From necessity; The Boston TenPoint Coalition was born. Click the link above to view the achievements of our original plan and also our renewed 2016 vision and Plan to meet the challenges of youth at risk in todays society.
Today we are proud to have merged with the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston as BMA I Tenpoint.
Rev. Jeffrey Brown speaks on urban violence at TED2015
"We'll never arrest our way out of this situation" Brown was one of the co-founders of Boston Tenpoint Coalition, a faith-based group, that was part of the "Boston Miracle," during which violent crime in the city declined by 79% through the 1990's. But to be part of this change, Brown realized he couldn't just stand on a pulpit and talk to congregants in the pews. He knew he had to leave the walls of the church, go into the community, and minister to the people that may often ignore religious figures like him.