Dr. Howard Spivak is Associate Chair of the Department of Pediatrics and Vice President for Community Health Programs at New England Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. He is Professor of Pediatrics and Community Health at Tufts University School of Medicine. In the past, he has served as Chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at Tufts New England Medical Center, Deputy Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Director of Adolescent Health Services for the City of Boston.

Dr. Spivak has been involved with activities in youth violence prevention for over 20 years. These activities have included: co-founding of the Boston Violence Prevention Program (the first community-based public health violence prevention program in the nation); development of the Office of Violence Prevention for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (the first such state level initiative in the nation); authorship of numerous articles, book chapters, and editorials on the issue of violence prevention among youth; participation in numerous studies and evaluations of youth violence prevention efforts; and development of the first emergency room surveillance initiative on weapon-related injuries. He speaks regularly around the nation on youth violence prevention strategies and works on an ongoing basis with many communities in the development of violence prevention programs.

Currently, Dr. Spivak chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Violence, is a member of the steering committee of the American Medical Association Commission on Youth Violence Prevention, co-chairs the Violent Injury Prevention Expert Panel for a national project developing health guidelines for US schools (the Health, Mental Health, and Safety in Schools Project), and is an elected member of the Executive Board of the American Pubic Health Association. He works with the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the development of Guidelines for School Programs to Prevent Violence and Injury, and has ongoing involvement with the US Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Dr. Spivak feels that children learn about violence in the home, from television, at the movies, on the streets and in school, and that this learning process is reinforced by the values we promote as a society and the public policies that devalue children, families, and healthy social environments. “We are not born with the need to hurt others. We are taught to do it. The factors that promote violence first affected the most vulnerable inner city communities but are so powerful that they have now penetrated the more resilient affluent suburbs and rural areas of this country. The tragic school shootings over the past three years are unfortunate illustrations of the vulnerability of all communities across the nation. Most recently, we have begun to see trends that suggest a newly developing wave of this epidemic involving girls not just as victims but as perpetrators of violence as well. This is a national tragedy that we must all work to stop! There is much we can do.”

His outstanding work in youth violence prevention has involved him in community efforts around the country. A number of years ago, at the request of the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas, in the wake of their tragedy, he consulted with school and community leaders in developing strategies for anger management and dealing with violent behavior in the schools. He has a long history of experience working with parents, schools and educators, governmental agencies, health and mental care providers and their national professional associations, criminal justice professionals, and communities in addressing youth violence at the practical as well as policy level. He believes that it is through the combined work of parents and individuals, communities, and policy makers that we will turn the tide on the epidemic of youth violence that has invaded every community in this nation.

Topics

Turning the Tide on Violence

Health, Mental Health, Healthcare,