Anti-Violence Program · The San Francisco Model A Program of the Association of Midnight Basketball, Inc.
Anti-Violence Program · The San Francisco Model

A candid and graphic look at the destructive toll of gun violence on America's youth.

SCARED STIFF is an anti-violence program that takes teens and young adults directly into the reality of urban gun violence — through funeral directors, morgue personnel, judges, police, gunshot victims, EMTs, and the parents of young adults killed by gun violence. It is designed to be an interdisciplinary approach.

Request a Session Call (925) 457-0757
Model
San Francisco
Prepared by
Lawrence C. Gray, Jr., M.Ed.
A Program of
Assoc. of Midnight Basketball, Inc.
▸ Watch: Inside the SCARED STIFF experience Documentary
Statement of Need

“If I live to see my 21st birthday…” — When a 14-year-old prefaces a discussion of his future with those words, we know how numb our communities have become to violence. SCARED STIFF exists to interrupt that.

The Proposed Program

To dispel the myth that violent death is honorable.

Using an approach similar to the well-known “Scared Straight” program, SCARED STIFF takes a gut-wrenching look at the carnage of gun violence — delivering it directly to schools (high and continuation), community centers, juvenile detention centers, and other public forums. A typical presentation is led by a funeral director/mortician.

01

Component / Phase 1 — On-Site Workshop

A 6-to-9-week on-site student workshop, delivered within the academic day. Includes program introduction, a video presentation on the destruction of handguns, keynote speakers, a question-and-answer period, and writing and self-reflection assignments.

02

Dutch-Uncle Talks From the Front Line

Direct, unfiltered talks from morgue personnel, judges, prosecutors, police officers, former inmates, gunshot victims, emergency medical technicians, morticians, and the mothers of murdered children. Youth hear it directly from the people who live with the consequences.

03

Component / Phase 2 — Structured Mentoring

30 students per school are referred from Phase 1 into a structured one-to-one mentoring program: two group mentoring sessions per month plus individual sessions. Emphasis on conflict resolution, career exploration, job readiness, academic assistance, community service, interpersonal skills, and character building.

04

Core Concepts of Every Session

Everyone has the right to be safe. Violence is a learned behavior and can be unlearned. Stopping violence is everyone's job. Violence is not entertainment. Violence begets more violence. Violence is not an effective way to solve problems.

In the Community

The work does not stay in the room.

SCARED STIFF shows up where the loss is felt — at memorials, at rallies, at survivor-led events. This is not outreach for outreach's sake. It is presence. It is standing with the mothers, the survivors, and the children who refuse to be next.

A SCARED STIFF community memorial board titled MURDERED VICTIMS, covered in photographs of young people lost to gun violence
Memorial

Every face on this board was somebody's child. Every session begins with them.

A young Black boy at a march holds a sign reading 'stop killing each other' with hashtag #300MenMarch
The Voice of the Next Generation

A child at a rally, holding the words the adults are afraid to say plainly.

Lawrence C. Gray Jr. at the #SurvivorsSpeak rally in San Francisco, standing between signs reading '1 IN 5' about crime victims
Founder at #SurvivorsSpeak

Lawrence C. Gray Jr. at the California survivors’ rally, standing with families who have lost.

A crowd at a CEASE FIRE Southern California rally holding a banner that reads 'LET ME LIVE!' at the state capitol
Coalition Work

“Let me live.” A demand, not a request. SCARED STIFF stands with the coalitions that carry it.

A 2016 tribute banner to the Fuentes Brothers, featuring youth photographs and messages of remembrance
2016 Tribute · Fuentes Brothers

Named. Remembered. Never a statistic.

The back of a SCARED STIFF program jacket in blue, with the red no-guns logo and the words SCARED STIFF
On the Ground

The SCARED STIFF jacket. Worn at every event. Recognized in every neighborhood we serve.

A community wall with a large STOP Black on Black Crime banner and the hashtag Stockton Black Leadership Council
Coalition Partner

Standing with the Black Leadership Council and community coalitions organizing against the violence.

A large group of survivors, family members, and advocates gathered together on the steps of the California State Capitol at #SurvivorsSpeak
#SurvivorsSpeak · Sacramento

Survivors and families from across California, standing together on the Capitol steps.

Advocates hold a L.A.U.R.A. banner reading STOP THE KILLING at a rally, honoring Laura Sanchez-Barajas and her four children
L.A.U.R.A. · Stop the Killing

“How many more before ‘you’ get involved?” Standing with L.A.U.R.A. and every family behind those banners.

The Reality

The statistics are not statistics
— they are children.

Violence among young Black males has been on an upward trend with no end in sight. High unemployment and a sense of hopelessness are incubators for the spread of violent behavior associated with drugs and gangs. Our schools, judicial system, and family structure are overwhelmed with this American tragedy.

10–12
Youth and young adults killed by gun violence every day in urban America.
Target audience: ages 10–29
48%
Of all males incarcerated in the U.S. today are African American.
1 in 10 African American males aged 16–24 is institutionalized
43%
Of Indianapolis Juvenile Detention Center inmates are drawn from a group that is only 11.2% of the city's population.
Source · Indianapolis Juvenile Detention Center
Infographic contrasting spending on corrections versus higher education in the United States: $75 billion on corrections, $65 billion on college; $31,000 per prisoner vs $8,700 per college student; 1 in 4 Black males will do time.
Program Material · The Math the Streets Don't Show You

This is one of the visuals SCARED STIFF walks young people through. When the numbers are put next to each other — corrections vs. college, cell vs. classroom — the choice stops being abstract.

Target Audience · Ages 10–29

Where the San Francisco Model is delivered.

The target audience is composed of students identified as “at-risk” based on their home environment, school, and social lives — those teenagers most likely to commit or become victims of gun-related acts of violence. The San Francisco Model is delivered into three tiers of schools.

Tier 1
Targeted High Schools
Balboa · Burton · Galileo · Marshall · Mission.
Tier 2
Alternative High Schools
Downtown · John Adams · Community Day · Ida B. Wells · Bay High.
Tier 3
Middle School Level
Alternative schools operating within a school at the middle school level — because the work has to start before the pattern locks in.
Origin
Indianapolis, Indiana
SCARED STIFF originated in Indianapolis, where teachers and administrators called it “an attention grabber.” The San Francisco Model brings it home to the schools and communities of the Bay Area.
Lawrence C. Gray Jr., Founder of SCARED STIFF and President & CEO of the Midnight Basketball League Program
Prepared By

Lawrence C. Gray, Jr., M.Ed.

CEO / President, Association of Midnight Basketball, Inc.
Author & Architect, SCARED STIFF — The San Francisco Model
Master of Education (M.Ed.)

Mr. Gray designed the San Francisco Model of SCARED STIFF to bring the program's proven Indianapolis approach into the schools, community centers, and juvenile detention centers of the Bay Area — through collaborations with concerned religious leaders, public officials, parents, educators, and concerned citizens.

SCARED STIFF is built on the premise that mentoring, when instituted as part of a broad partnership of schools, businesses, and the community, reconnects at-risk youth who feel disconnected. The goal is for young people to identify with mentors and, consequently, become more able to do for themselves.

“It is not the adversity that shapes destiny as much as it is how one deals with adversity.” — Lawrence C. Gray, Jr., M.Ed.
Program Goals · Expected Outcomes

What every SCARED STIFF cohort walks away with.

Specific, measurable outcomes for every school and community where the San Francisco Model is delivered. Pilot programs, in particular Component 2, are closely evaluated to determine that the planned community intervention model is achieving its goals.

100%
Of participants will be made aware of the devastating impact of gun violence in the community.
85%
Of students participating in both Component 1 and 2 will improve management of anger and conflict resolution skills using appropriate non-violent approaches.
100%
Of students in Components 1 and 2 will receive training on acceptance of personal responsibility.
100%
Of students in Components 1 and 2 will receive individualized life skills development training — effective decision making, goal setting, and more.
100%
Of participants will be made aware of ways to improve police–community relations as it relates to youth issues.
Program Curriculum

Fourteen topics. Real conversations. Held with dignity.

Implementation uses video, group discussion, field trips, theatrical and music productions, and written booklets. Mentors receive the booklet as a primary handout; mentees receive an additional copy to share with parents. The curriculum is structured so it can be easily integrated into a school's regular curriculum.

  • Sticks and Stones
  • Talks My Father Never Had With Me
  • Talks My Mother Never Had With Me
  • Racism and the African American Experience
  • Effective Communication
  • Police and the African American Experience
  • Violence and Urban Youth
  • Respecting Peers, Adult Authority, and Parents
  • Fatherhood / Motherhood
  • Stress and Youth
  • Life Skills / Study Skills
  • Tutoring / Graduation Qualifying Exam Prep
  • Career Exploration / College Prep / SAT / ACT
  • Personal Health & Leadership Development

Bring SCARED STIFF to your community.

Schools, courts, faith communities, and community organizations can request the San Francisco Model for the youth in their care. Programming is delivered through the Association of Midnight Basketball, Inc. Every session is built for the community it serves.

Request a Session
Or call directly
(925) 457-0757
SCARED STIFF is a program of the Association of Midnight Basketball, Inc. Lawrence C. Gray, Jr., M.Ed., serves as CEO / President.
Visit AMB → SCARED STIFF
Contact

Let's talk about the youth in your community.

Reach out to schedule a session, ask a question, or learn how SCARED STIFF can serve your school, court, congregation, or community organization.

  • Phone
    (925) 457-0757
  • Website
    www.scaredstiff.org
  • Program Model
    The San Francisco Model
  • A Program Of
    Association of Midnight Basketball, Inc.

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