The VPA (Jamaican Chapter) was launched in November 2004 during the University of the West Indies' Medical Research Conference. Our message is “Violence is Preventable” and we seek to build an alliance with all sectors of society that creates safe communities where children can grow up free from fear and violence.
Our Vision is a violence free and safe Jamaica, and we achieve this by using a multi-sectoral approach to unite around a shared vision for the prevention and reduction of crime and violence in Jamaica.
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More specifically, the VPA, through its network of Alliance Members, utilizes a data driven evidence-based approach to violence prevention, by supporting the promotion of primary prevention of violence, integrated community development and public education; increasing collaboration and exchange of information between organizations on violence prevention; and lobbying for the integration of violence prevention into social and educational policies, thereby enhancing the promotion of gender and social equality.
THE TEAM
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Chairperson
Dr. Elizabeth Ward
MBBS, MSc, BSc, Dip. Gum, Dip H. Econ
Executive Director
Dr. Deanna Ashley
CD, MBBS, DPH, DM (Paed.)
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Mrs. Winsome Heslop
Programme Administrator
Mrs. Winsome Williams
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ALLIANCE MEMBERS
Meeting monthly through a Steering Committee, the Alliance Members of VPA are at the forefront of fueling societal change for citizen safety. Membership is open to any organisation actively involved, directly and indirectly, in violence prevention in Jamaica. Members demonstrate a clear interest and/ or expertise in preventing violence and adopt the guiding principles of the VPA. These guiding principles inform public policy, institutional policy and violence prevention programming. VPA participation is voluntary and individuals and organisations join the Alliance with an understanding that strength, utility and impact is dependent upon the active participation and commitment of its members.
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Ministry of Health and Wellness
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Ministry of National Security
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Ministry of Education, Youth & Information
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Ministry of Labour and Social Security
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Jamaica Social Investment Fund
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Mona Geoinformatics Institute
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Jamaica Broadcasting Commission
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Manchester Peace Coalition
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Nurses Association of Jamaica
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Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches
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Children First
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Dispute Resolution Foundation
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Medical Association of Jamaica
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Nurses Association of Jamaica
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VPA Community Action Network
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Combined Cadet Force
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United Nations Agencies
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United Nations Development Programme
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Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization
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United Nations Children’s Fund
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UN Women
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The University of the West Indies
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University of Technology
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Peace Management Initiative
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WMW (formerly Woman’s Media Watch)
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Caribbean Child Development Centre
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Holy NetWorks
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Jamaica Council of Churches
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VPA North East
KEY PARTNERS AND DONORS
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We would like to express our gratitude to all of our present and past partners and funders who have helped to achieve VPA’s key objectives of promoting the primary prevention of violence, increasing multi-sectoral collaboration, and lobbying for the integration of violence prevention into social and educational policies. Although the help we have received thus far has, undoubtedly, enabled us to make important societal impacts which would have been impossible otherwise, there is still a long way to go in the fight against violence. As such, we look forward to continuing existing and embarking on new collaborative relationships with stakeholders as we aim to fulfill our shared vision of a violence free and safe Jamaica.
If you would like to partner with VPA in any way, please click here to contact us: https://www.vpajamaica.org/contact-us