Prevention and Control of Violence through Community Revitalization,Individual Dignity,and Personal Self-Confidence

Abstract

The Ponce Playa Project, officially known as the Centro Sister Isolina Ferré, is a community-based project originally designed for the prevention and correction of juvenile delinquency. It is also perceived as a successful grass-roots project that has effectively limited violence through the revitalization of the Ponce Playa community. The project is based on the principle that a community made aware of its own resources, with a confidence in its capacity to use these resources for its own fulfillment, will come alive and create a life more human and more satisfying for itself and the development of its children. Educational alternatives and job training have helped in the development of a sense of self-worth; youth and family advocacy and community health programs have resulted in a new vision of a people in control of their lives; an awareness of their capacity for mutual assistance has reawakened a sense of confidence. They have created in Ponce Playa an environment conducive to achievement rather than delinquency or violence.