As a new school year gets underway across the Seattle region, Kathleen Richardson, Director of Development for Youth Guidance Greater Seattle, reflects on what recent incidents of youth violence have reinforced: preventing violence requires investing in young people long before a crisis occurs.

By Kathleen Richardson, Director of Development, Youth Guidance Greater Seattle

Earlier this year, a shooting near Seattle Center again confronted our region with difficult questions about youth violence and public safety. The headlines eventually moved on, but the question at the heart of that moment remains: How do we stop the next act of violence, rather than simply respond after it happens?

As students return to classrooms this fall, that question feels especially important.

Conversations about policing, prosecution, and accountability are necessary, and they have their place. But if we are serious about reducing youth violence, we must also invest in prevention—giving young people the relationships, skills, and support they need long before a moment of crisis.

In my role as Director of Development for Youth Guidance Greater Seattle, I have seen the difference that early, consistent support can make in a young person’s life. Here in King County, an expansion of that work is creating an opportunity to reach young people even earlier.

Since 2019, Becoming A Man (BAM), a school-based program operated by Youth Guidance Greater Seattle, has served more than 2,000 students in Highline Public Schools. The program helps young people strengthen the emotional regulation, decision-making, and conflict-resolution skills that can reduce violence and improve life outcomes.

Programs that reduce youth violence are rare. Programs backed by rigorous evidence are even rarer.

Every week, our counselors work with young men carrying trauma, grief, and uncertainty that often remain invisible until they surface as conflict. Alongside educators, families, and community partners, our counselors help students slow down, build healthier relationships, and make thoughtful decisions before a moment of crisis changes the course of a life.

As communities throughout South King County continue grappling with youth gun violence, including incidents involving Evergreen High School students, local leaders are recognizing that this work must begin even earlier.

That is why the King County Council’s investment in expanding BAM into a middle school that feeds into Evergreen High School matters. As a new school year begins, the expansion represents something larger than an investment in one program: It reflects a growing recognition that public safety begins with reaching young people early.

The communities surrounding Evergreen High School face many of the same challenges confronting families across our region: exposure to trauma, growing behavioral health needs, community violence, and access to firearms. Educators and parents understand that waiting until high school may mean missing a critical window for support.

By expanding BAM into a feeder middle school, Highline Public Schools and Youth Guidance are creating a continuum of support during one of the most important transitions in a young person’s life. That decision reflects what decades of research have shown: intervening early can be an important investment in the safety and well-being of young people and their communities.

Programs that reduce youth violence are rare. Programs backed by rigorous evidence are even rarer.

Independent researchers at the University of Chicago Crime Lab found that participation in BAM reduced violent-crime arrests by 50 percent and overall arrests by 35 percent. Young people who received the recommended dosage also demonstrated stronger school engagement and improved long-term educational outcomes. Those are significant findings at a time when communities across the country are searching for solutions that work.

The reason BAM works is deceptively simple: Young people often make life-altering decisions in moments measured in seconds, and BAM teaches them how to slow those moments down.

Through weekly group sessions known as BAM Circles, young men learn to recognize automatic reactions, manage anger, navigate peer pressure, and think through consequences before acting. The model combines cognitive behavioral therapy, mentoring, and relationship-based support delivered by trusted adults who often share similar lived experiences with the youth they serve.

The goal is not simply to improve behavior at school. It is to strengthen the decision-making skills young people carry into every part of their lives.

Prevention programs are not a substitute for effective policing, behavioral health services, or accountability. They complement those efforts. Without prevention, communities will always be responding after harm has occurred instead of reducing the likelihood that violence happens in the first place.

The reason BAM works is deceptively simple: Young people often make life-altering decisions in moments measured in seconds, and BAM teaches them how to slow those moments down.

Highline Public Schools has continued expanding BAM because it fills an important gap between traditional school supports and crisis intervention. Students gain trusted adult relationships, supportive peer networks, and practical tools for navigating conflict before it escalates. In many cases, that support can mean the difference between escalation and de-escalation.

I have been encouraged by the positive community response to this expansion. Families, educators, and local stakeholders recognize that supporting students before they enter high school creates an opportunity to build protective factors years before problems become entrenched. That should matter to everyone concerned about public safety.

The questions raised by the Seattle Center shooting have not gone away simply because the headlines have changed. If anything, the start of another school year should remind us that meaningful action cannot begin only after violence occurs. It must include sustained investments that reduce the likelihood of violence in the first place.

King County’s investment reflects that understanding and represents a broader commitment to evidence-based prevention. It also recognizes that public safety is a shared responsibility among schools, families, community organizations, behavioral health providers, and law enforcement.

As students across our region begin another school year, we have another opportunity to decide what prevention looks like in practice. I believe King County can demonstrate what it means to make prevention—not just response—a central part of public safety.

Real public safety begins long before a crime is committed. It begins with trusted adults, strong relationships, and proven interventions that help young people make better decisions when the stakes are highest. If we want fewer families to experience the heartbreak caused by youth violence, these are the investments we must continue making.