| Project Co-ordinator, Southern Africa Dr Elrena van der Spuy Institute of Criminology, University of Cape Town Private Bag Rondebosch, 7701 Cape Town Tel.: +27 21 650 2988 Fax: +27 21 650 3790 Email: Elrena.VanDerSpuy@uct.ac.za |
Project Co-ordinator, Caribbean Professor Anthony Harriott Head, Department of Government University of West Indies Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica Tel. + (876) 512 3357 Fax + (876) 927 0997 Email: anthonydharriott@yahoo.com |
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Violence Prevention in the Caribbean
S-CORNER CLINIC
| S-Corner
Clinic started in 1990 to address the health problems in the community
of Bennett Land, a part of Whitfield Town in the western end of
Kingston. From treating health matters S-Corner was drawn into a
range of community development: education, sanitation and income-generating
projects. All these efforts were virtually nullified, by the warring
of community gangs. Ever increasingly effective strategies were
developed, where now gang warring has mostly ended, the earlier
loss of life significantly reduced and youth, especially males,
are able to move about freely and have been participating as never
before in community activities.
S-Corner has been involved in numerous other activities – a Grassroots College for school drop-outs, job placement, homework assistance and a sports programme. Funding is largely from charitable overseas agencies, supplemented regularly by local fund-raising activities such as bingos and stage shows. On the whole, the Clinic lived a precarious hand-to-mouth existence. The S-Corner experience show that the value and the need for organizations like S-Corner Clinic with a strong developmental thrust in depressed communities; the power of good leadership, not only from such NGOs but also and especially from community members and youth; the critical importance of distinguishing carefully, in the context specific to each community, between youth engaged in turf warfare and hardened criminals capable of manipulating every situation to their own ends, the former to be helped out the box from which they generally seek to escape, the latter to be guarded against and left to the security forces to deal with; and the realization that it will take time and much perseverance to effect change in long and deeply entrenched behaviour and cultural practices. For the residents of Bennett Land, with their very poor living conditions and high unemployment, the Clinic and its staff have been a respect-building presence and a steady beacon of hope. Its programmes in sanitation, health, education were constructive and deeply appreciated by the community. Its employment and income-generating initiatives have been especially impactful. Most important of all has been the effort of the Clinic to build a community association and community leadership and to involve them in helping to plan and to implement programmes. It is difficult to see how urban violent crime can be ended without more S-Corners in every corner of the city. Contact Details |
Best Practice Projects
Our Project focuses on crime prevention activities that fall within the following themes:
| Community Policing: | |
| - | Southern Africa |
| - | Caribbean |
| Violence Prevention: | |
| - | Southern Africa |
| - | Caribbean |
| Conflict Resolution/Culture of Legality: | |
| - | Southern Africa |
| - | Caribbean |
| Offender Reintegration: | |
| - | Southern Africa |
| - | Caribbean |
Click on a theme to view examples of independently reviewed/evaluated best practice projects from Southern African and the Caribbean.