The Midvale City Council approved adding an extra $10,000 in funding for a public health program aimed at reducing youth violence on Sept. 16.

Dubbed Uplift Midvale, the community coalition dedicated to youth violence prevention was launched in 2023, in collaboration with the Salt Lake County Health Department. The initiative is overseen by the national prevention program Communities That Care (CTC).

Vanessa Guevara, Uplift Midvale’s coalition coordinator, told the city council that CTC awarded the city $10,000 for the program’s fourth year. She added that the grant will take the total budget for the five-year program to $1,135,000.

“The budget will include funding for coalition operations, initiatives, [a coalition coordinator] and also an epidemiologist up in Salt Lake County,” Guevara said.

In 2023, Midvale had one of the highest rates of youth violence in Salt Lake County. Guevara said in a city newsletter that young people growing up in Midvale are at a higher risk of “falling witness to or are partaking in gang-related behavior.”

Uplift Midvale offers at-risk youths mentoring opportunities and after-school programs to foster pro-social behavior, according to Uplift Midvale’s website.

“Our mission is to nurture a community where the potential of every young individual is recognized and celebrated,” Guevara said to the city council. “And ensuring a brighter, more promising future for generations to come.”

Young people are more likely to join gangs if they are isolated from pro-social environments, spend time with antisocial peers, and have troubled family and school life. And the best way to reduce juvenile criminality is through “programs that are community-based, target multiple needs, and improve caregiver skills for communication and monitoring,” according to the University of Utah's Criminal Justice Center.

A 2015 study published in the Prevention Science journal found that middle schoolers enrolled in a CTC-guided program had more opportunities for positive community and school involvement compared to students not participating in a CTC program. The researchers also found that kids in CTC had improved social skills and more pro-social interactions with their peers.

Uplift Midvale plans on instituting CTC’s procedures in 2026, according to a Midvale summary report.