This article is part of our ongoing work to strengthen safer communities using a solution-focused approach. If you’re interested in applying these ideas in practice, see our new course:

Solution-Focused Violence Prevention: Skills and Practice for Agencies

Penny Griffith and Collaborative Solutions for Communities have been building something extraordinary in Washington, D.C. For decades, Penny has stood on the front lines of violence prevention with focus, clarity, and an unshakable belief in human potential. Grounded in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), her work transforms conversations into strategies that help people imagine and create safer futures.

This progress is a testament to communities that mobilize, advocate, and extend care in ways that transform lives. Washington, D.C.’s tightly knit neighborhoods beat with resilience, spark creativity, and carry a fierce determination to endure. Yet those same streets also bear the weight of poverty, racism, trauma, and loss—a legacy of conflict that makes the courage to envision something different even more powerful.

The Collaborative’s efforts embody a whole-system culture shift, rooted in dignity, strengthened by strategy, and carried forward with purpose and compassion. Despite political rhetoric that denies these realities, the truth is clear: Washington, D.C. is safer today because of decades of community-driven, evidence-based prevention. Violence interrupters, credible messengers, and wraparound services have contributed to measurable declines in shootings and homicides. These strategies save lives and restore hope.

Through the use of thoughtful, solution-focused questions, staff, families, youth, and the community strengthen their critical thinking skills. These questions draw attention to past successes, highlight moments of strength, and open the door to future possibilities. In the process, staff deepen their ability to think strategically, explore complex interpersonal dynamics, recognize resilience, and identify meaningful opportunities for positive change.

Legacy, Not Just Survival

For Penny, the work is not just about stopping the bleeding; it’s about saving lives. It’s about building futures, one question, one relationship, one neighborhood at a time. Through Solution-Focused conversations, she helps young people write new stories about who they are and who they can become. She does it right alongside them, in schools, in homes, on the street, and in quiet moments after the storm.

In a city coping with cycles of grief and retaliation, she has shown that hope, when asked for skillfully, becomes a strategy. And that healing, when grounded in humanity, practiced with respect, and guided by justice, becomes a movement, once carried forward by speaking solution-focused language, where people connect, build trust, and imagine safer futures together.

As Penny and the Institute broaden this approach to New York and Chicago, their impact continues to grow. Through live trainings, self-paced online courses, and targeted consultations, they are equipping communities with tools to replicate what works, making measurable, lasting change, one question, one conversation, one street at a time.

Building a Culture Where Everyone Speaks Hope

It began when Penny was searching for a better way to mediate conflict among youth, something neutral, nonjudgmental, and future-oriented. She was introduced to the solution-focused approach by Insoo Kim Berg and quickly recognized its transformative potential. Since that moment, everyone in her organization has been trained in solution-focused language: case managers, mental health clinicians, outreach workers, finance staff, HR personnel, and front desk receptionists. As Penny puts it, “The whole caboose gets trained.”

These sessions occur once or twice a year and include interactive role-plays, discussions about real-life cases, and practical tools that help staff across departments engage with youth and families with respect and optimism. The language is maintained through solution-focused case consultation, supervision, and dedicated leadership. The result? A shared language that makes every interaction, whether it’s booking an appointment or intervening in a crisis, an opportunity for connection and healing.

Mapping the Conflict: Knowing the Landscape, Not Just the Symptoms

Penny’s team knows the city at the street level, not from textbooks, but from life. Many of her staff members grew up in the very neighborhoods they now serve. Some were once gang-affiliated. Together, they have built detailed maps of conflict between neighborhood “crews”, hyperlocal street groups whose rivalries span decades and are often rooted in tragic losses from years past.

One street over, someone’s cousin was killed. Three blocks away, a friend was shot in retaliation. The grief is fresh and compounded, and the beefs don’t die with the victims; they live on in the survivors.

Using these maps, Penny’s team tracks which groups are “beefing” with each other, which zones are escalating, and how conflicts spread, sometimes as far as from Ward 1 to Ward 8. They understand how the energy of the streets shifts after a party, a club confrontation, or a viral social media post. And when something happens, they know exactly who to call, who to meet, and where to go to cool things down before someone else dies.

Proactive Critical Incident Reporting

A core part of Penny’s community-informed violence prevention strategy is the use of real-time Critical Incident Reporting, grounded in solution-focused language and principles. Any outreach worker, clinician, or staff member who becomes aware of a brewing threat, interpersonal conflict, or community tension can submit a critical incident alert. These reports don’t just flag potential danger; they initiate a response rooted in respect, strengths, and possibility.

Once received, a multidisciplinary team rapidly reviews the report and responds within 24 hours. Using solution-focused questions, the team maps the known players involved, not to assign blame, but to identify existing relationships, trusted messengers, and overlooked resources. They explore questions such as: “What’s already helping to prevent escalation?” or “Who has influence for peace in this moment?” Based on this information, the team crafts an individualized strategy that may include direct outreach, family engagement, school-based support, or the presence of a trusted adult in a hot spot. In this way, solution-focused language becomes the foundation for proactive, relational, and dignified action.

“What’s already helping to keep this from escalating?”
“What’s the smallest sign that things could de-escalate?”
“Where has calm held, even in the middle of conflict?”

They map the known players, not to label, but to identify strengths, allies, and credible messengers.

Throughout the process, the team uses scaling questions to anchor possibility:

“On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely is it that this situation can cool down without violence?”
“What keeps that number from being lower?”
“What would a one-point improvement look like in this community?”
“Who would notice if things are calming down?”
“What would they see people doing differently?”

By anchoring every crisis response in solution-focused language, Penny’s team prevents violence before it starts, while reinforcing dignity, agency, and hope for everyone involved.

Street-Based, Trauma-Informed Outreach

Solution-focused language is compassionate, empathic, creative, and responsive. Penny’s outreach workers operate like ICU mobile support units, driving youth to school, visiting families at home, intervening on street corners, and responding to community trauma.

After a shooting, they might take a group of young people canoeing, to the arcade, or to mini-golf, not as a reward, but as a chance to help their nervous systems reset. As Penny puts it, “You can’t ask deep questions when someone is still hyped. You have to meet them in their body first.”

Once regulated, these same young people begin to open up. That’s when the real work begins.

Schools, Pizza, and Six-Week Transformations

In schools, Penny’s team runs group sessions with students flagged as high-risk. These are different than traditional therapy sessions. They happen during lunch. The kids get pizza, Chick-fil-A, or whatever food builds trust. Then, for six weeks at a time, they engage in structured yet flexible conversations using solution-focused language that addresses things such as anger, safety, relationships, bullying, and self-worth.

Each session lasts about 30 minutes. After each cycle, the team takes a short break before launching a new round with different themes or participants. They also run “newcomer groups” for recently immigrated Latino students, many of whom are targeted by gangs. These groups focus on navigating community risks, identifying safe spaces, and creating positive affiliations.

Penny’s team introduces themselves, explains the services, and begins building trust, not just with the youth, but with the entire family. Importantly, parents are also invited to family nights or family outings.

Solution-Focused Questions that Interrupt, Reframe, and Rebuild

Core Survival Questions Used Throughout

What would staying alive allow you to do?
What’s one way you’ve already shown strength without violence?
On a scale from 0 to 10, how confident are you that you can respond with non-violent strength?
What’s keeping that number from being lower? What else?
What would be a good enough number?
How confident are you that you can ask for help when you are in danger?

For Retaliation and Rage

Who’s counting on you to stay safe?
What does your mom gain if you choose peace?
On a scale of 0 to 10, how much are you carrying today?
What’s helped you not go all the way to 10?
What have you already done that shows strength?
What’s one choice you’ve made this week that you’re proud of?
If you can imagine a different response than retaliating, what would that be?
Or was there a time you could have retaliated or fought back, and you didn’t?

High-Risk Mediation: When Retaliation Feels Inevitable

Acknowledging Grief and Reframing Violence

What would your mother say she is most proud of you?
What would your mother think if you ended up in jail or dead?
When you think of your family, what would you miss most if you ended up in jail?
What would your daughter’s best hopes be for you when you are part of her life?
What would your daughter do if she had to find a second dad because you weren’t around?
On a scale from 1-10, what is a good enough number so you can stay alive on the same block?
How would retaliation make things better?
Right now, how likely are you that you will do what is needed to keep you and your neighborhood safe and not retaliate from 1-10?
Who would appreciate you staying safe?
What would they appreciate about you for making a decision to stay safe?
Suppose you could agree not to kill each other; what would that look like? What would you be doing instead? What else would you be doing?
What would make it possible for you to share the same neighborhood block without fear?
Who in the neighborhood can support you in staying calm or helping you fight for peace?
Supposing 10 is you are doing what you can to bring peace to your block, and one is the opposite, where are you now?
Who would notice when there is peace on your block? Who else would notice?
What would they see you doing?
What would they appreciate about having peace in their neighborhood? What else would they appreciate?
What is one step you’re willing to take?

For De-escalation and Agency

You must have a good reason to be considering retaliation; how would this be helpful for you, for your loved ones, for the person you lost…?
What will be better after you retaliate?
What will be better for you after you cool down?
What might your kids miss if you’re gone?
What would your kids appreciate about you being in their lives?
Who would be most proud of you responding with non-violence? Who else?
What would they say they most appreciate about your non-violent response?
How confident would they say you are from 1-10 that you will respond non-violently?
If the number is not good enough, what is one thing you could do to raise your number by one point?
How confident are you that you will do your best to raise your number by one point?

For Grief and Trauma: Healing Hurt Without Repeating It

Acknowledging how difficult the situation is for them.
You can still honor your cousin by living.
You can make this pain mean something by protecting someone else.
You’re not soft for wanting to survive, you’re smart.
Suppose we asked your friend who you lost: what would their best hopes be for you right now? What else?
What’s the cost of continuing this pain? Who else pays for it?
How have you honored your loved one without risking your own life?
What’s one way to honor the dead without dying yourself?
How well have you been able to cope with your grief from 1-10, 10 being the best and 1 being the opposite?
Suppose we asked your loved one how well you have been enduring your grief from 1-10, what number would they give you?
What keeps their number from being lower?
What do you know has helped you cope so far?

Ego, Legacy, and the Masculinity

You want to represent your cousin. I get it. You want to show you’re not soft. Of course you do.
But let’s look at the score. Your brother? Gone. Your best friend? Locked up. You’re next.
What if your real strength is staying alive and being there for your kids, your partner, your mom?
Yes, you’re expected to represent. Yes, the streets are watching. Yes, your cousin was taken from you.
Let’s look at the facts. Your cousin is gone. His best friend is gone. Your brother is gone. You’re next.
What if your power is not in revenge, but in staying alive long enough to change something for the next kid?
What would moving from a 2 to a 3 look like for both sides?

Evidence and Impact: Grounding in Research

Penny’s work is part of a growing body of evidence supporting Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) as an effective intervention for reducing aggression and promoting emotional regulation in youth. A 2023 umbrella review of systematic reviews concluded that SFBT significantly improves externalizing behaviors and internal distress in adolescents, with particular relevance for school and community settings where time and trust are limited (Kim & Franklin, 2023). This makes it not only practical but scientifically validated for work in high-stakes environments like violence prevention and trauma recovery.

Her use of solution-focused language in restorative dialogues mirrors the success of Hawai’i’s Pono Kaulike program, which combined restorative justice with SFBT. The program demonstrated a nearly 50% lower recidivism rate compared to traditional processes (Umbreit et al., 2009). Like Penny, the program fostered transformation through dialogue, goal setting, and dignity-centered practices.

Healing becomes sustainable when people are equipped with practical skills to carry solution-focused conversations into their communities. If this article resonated with you, we invite you to deepen your practice through our new course:

To learn more about our training programs and how to bring solution-focused violence prevention to your community, click here.

Solution-Focused Violence Prevention: Skills and Practice for Agencies
Live Online or In-Person | 12 CE Credit/Clock Hours

Course Description
This live course, delivered either in person or via Zoom, offers a practical and interactive training experience for organizations seeking to prevent violence and promote safer communities. Participants engage in real-time learning through group discussions, case-based demonstrations, role-plays, and guided clinical practice.

Led by a master solution-focused practitioner and trainer, the course provides 12 hours of live instruction focused on developing core solution-focused skills. Emphasis is placed on cultivating hope, strengthening partnerships, fostering resilience, and building fluency in solution-focused language that can be applied immediately in high-stress environments.

References

Collaborative Solutions For Communities: https://www.wearecsc.org/

Franklin, C., Zhang, A., Froerer, A., & Johnson, S. (2017). Solution-focused brief therapy: A systematic review and meta-summary of process research. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 43(1), 16–30.

Kim, J. S., Brookman-Frazee, L., & Lambert, M. J. (2023). Effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Research on Social Work Practice, 33(2), 175–190.

Umbreit, M. S., Coates, R. B., & Vos, B. (2009). Pono Kaulike: Reducing violence with restorative justice and solution-focused approaches. Federal Probation, 73(1), 25–31.