Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships (Start Strong) is the largest initiative ever funded to target 11-to 14-year-olds and rally entire communities to promote healthy relationships as the way to prevent teen dating violence and abuse. Start Strong is bringing together a wide variety of partners for the first time to tackle this issue and mobilize teens to lead and shape this national public health effort.

The Start Strong model utilizes innovative strategies in education, community engagement, policy change, and cutting-edge social marketing to empower young people to support healthy relationships and ensure violence and abuse are never tolerated. As part of this four-year initiative, Start Strong is creating a national learning community to promote outstanding practices in prevention and advance the way our society can end teen dating violence and abuse.

Start Strong is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in collaboration with Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Blue Shield of California Foundation* are investing $18 million in 11 communities across the country to identify and evaluate the most promising pathways to stop dating violence and abuse before it starts.

(*Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is funding ten sites around the country and Blue Shield of California Foundation is funding one site in California.)

Grantees

Based on a rigorous evaluation of more than 500 proposals received, the following organizations were selected to receive funding for Start Strong:

1. Boston Public Health Commission - Boston, Massachusetts
2. Bronx–Lebanon Hospital - Bronx, New York
3. Catholic Charities Inc. - Wichita, Kansas
4. Emory University School of Medicine - Jane Fonda Center- Atlanta, Georgia
5. Family Violence Law Center - Oakland, California
6. Idaho Coalition against Sexual and Domestic Violence- Boise, Idaho
7. Indiana University Health - Indianapolis, Indiana
8. Peace Over Violence – Los Angeles, California * (BSCF funded site)
9. RYASAP - Bridgeport, Connecticut
10. SafePlace – Austin, Texas
11. Sojourner House - Providence, Rhode Island

The National Program Office

Futures Without Violence, one of the nation’s leading organizations working to prevent domestic and sexual violence, is the National Program Office (NPO) for the Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships initiative and will provide direction and assistance to the sites. In collaboration with RWJF, Futures Without Violence will work closely with the sites and the national evaluation team to create a menu of best program practices that can be tailored to local needs.

Grant information

Each grant award was up to $250,000 per year, with a maximum award of $1 million for the full grant period (48 months starting November 15, 2008). There are no plans for further rewards.