There are also a number of misrepresentations that convey a troubling tone.
Faraone ascribes the increase in violence "around 2000" to "vicious infighting and apathy to funding cuts" without offering a shred of actual evidence.
Faraone suggests that StreetSafe Boston is run by Robert Lewis, Reverend Jeffrey Brown, and Boston Police Officer Gary French — not because there is evidence of that, but because these were the three lead panelists in the Radio Boston program taped at Faneuil Hall in November that aired on WBUR after Thanksgiving.
Faraone suggests that the Boston Foundation streetworkers and the city streetworkers operate independently of one another, writing: "the two groups might actually benefit from alignment."
In fact, both sets of streetworkers are overseen by Chris Byner, a manager who works for the City of Boston, to facilitate coordination.
The net result of this sloppy culling of previously published or broadcast material and a failure to follow with even cursory fact-checking adds up to a negative report on an initiative that has, in fact, been carefully and thoughtfully designed and implemented, and which is on track, financially and administratively, and which has earned high praise from those doing the hard work of reducing youth-related violent crime in our cities.
DAVID TRUEBLOOD
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
THE BOSTON FOUNDATION
CHRIS FARAONE RESPONDS:
David Trueblood and I have a different understanding of events. At the risk of being confrontational, why would I make repeated attempts to gain access over three months if I were not writing a story? But let's move on. On the merit of my writing and reporting: of course in researching I referenced hundreds of existing articles from credible resources. But I also spoke with more than 30 people who are now or have been involved in Boston's youth violence-prevention community. Several of them were quoted on the record; others spoke off the record.
Trueblood questions where I got the notion that donations were down. That would be a July 1, 2009, Boston Globe article titled "Foundation Stymied in Tackling Street Crime."
He writes that I should have looked at the Web site. I did, and there were 17 listed workers. I reported 16, because I knew that Steven Hailey had been asked to leave the program.
I wrote that the initiative launched in July (four months before November). He says it was June. I'll take his word for it.
He takes issue with my writing that people are uncomfortable with a "lily-white" foundation taking on this direct-intervention initiative. They are; this was the number-one concern of nearly everyone I spoke with.
As far as funding, see the above Globe reference. Also, look at where the foundation is now, compared with the numbers in the June 2009 Boston Business Journal executive profile of Robert Lewis Jr.
Trueblood writes: "Faraone ascribes the increase in violence 'around 2000' to 'vicious infighting and apathy to funding cuts' without offering a shred of actual evidence." Among other things, I would point him to the Kennedy School report titled: Losing Faith? Politics, Black Churches, and the Resurgence of Youth Violence in Boston.
He also writes: "In fact, both sets of streetworkers are overseen by Chris Byner, a manager who works for the City of Boston, to facilitate coordination." Please read the article again; it's all in there! As are several points about the "actual strategy of StreetSafe Boston."
At the end of the day, one truth shines through: I was denied access.
