“Gang Violence Fueled by Clicks on Social Media”; “A Series of Shootings Rattles Northeast Omaha”; “Female Police Officer Murdered by Gang Member”; “12-Year-Old Arrested in Connection With a Deadly Omaha Shooting”; “Omaha Police Respond to another Shooting” – Recognize these headlines?
In almost every story there are kids involved, kids who have witnessed firsthand horrific crimes. Gang members are recruiting younger and younger members. Project Harmony, whose sole mission is to protect and support children, is responding to the violence within our community through assessment and intervention.
On August 11th, Project Harmony hosted Gang Training 101 for 80 professionals within the Douglas & Sarpy County area. This training, led by Sergeant Jonathan Waller who is currently part of the gang intelligence unit with the Omaha Police Department, covered a wide variety of gang-related issues. Gang Training 101 is just one in a series of gang related trainings to come. Project Harmony intends to open this training to more professionals as well as the entire community for free.
Project Harmony also provided training to 30 local mental health providers, August 10-12, on CBITS (Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools). These trained mental health providers will be placed in Omaha area schools to implement CBITS and help children traumatized by violence.
For a complete listing of free training courses available to the public through the Training Institute at Project Harmony, please visit www.projectharmony.com.