PanZOu's Ms. Laura Selected as next “Jenny’s Hero”

The Jenny Jones Foundation was established in 2005 as a means to provide assistance to those in need. Primary areas of focus are education, women’s health, and improving communities throughout the country.

THANK YOU JENNY JONES FOR $25K OF EQUIPMENT TO START OUR SILK SCREEN & EMBROIDERY BUSINESS!

On March 17, 2009, North Miami Beach Commission on the Status of Women awarded PanZOu Executive Director Laura Kallus with "Impressive Women of North Miami Beach" for her work on behalf of children and families in the community!!

US Attorney Recognizes PanZOu for its Gang Violence Prevention Efforts February 6, 2009!

PanZOu has been recognized as a national best practice model forreducing gangs by the Office of Juvenile Justice &Delinquency Prevention!Click here to view the publication: Best Practices To Address Community Gang Problems: OJJDP's Comprehensive Gang Model."

PanZOu highlighted in the Florida Attorney General's Gang Reduction Stratgey 2008-2012 and on their SafeStreets website!

PanZOu participated in an invitation only gang prevention and intervention working group for the AG's Office to help create a Gang Reduction Strategy for Florida.

In 2001 and 2002 there was a rise in violent and non-violent crime in the City of North Miami Beach (NMB), especially in regards to Juvenile crimes. Juveniles make up approximately 31% of the population, but comprised 45% of the crime. Then in July of 2002, gunfire erupted when a car fired 70 rounds at a group of teenagers near a recreational park. Seven people were wounded and one person died. Throughout that spring and fall there were at least 15 drive-by shootings in the area. This rise in crime prompted the area to take action and to seek to become a GRP site.

The PanZOu Project has been working in the City of North Miami Beach (NMB) since 2004, when we first did our community strategic planning process. In 2005, our doors opened with staff and a community location at Island Place Apartments, in the heart of our target area. The map below is from the Urban Institute, our National Evaluators. They evaluate change at a city wide level.

The predominate zip code for the City of North Miami Beach is 33162, which is also where the majority if our clients live. As the map above shows, gang crime in the city is most heavily concentrated in a few areas, most notably the neighborhood known as Victory Park. This is the area that PanZOu targeted the majority of our efforts. The below data table from the North Miami Beach Police Department looks at crimes committed in the Victory Park neighborhood during the two years prior to PanZOu Project and compares them to crimes committed during our first two years in operation.

The V.P. Neighborhood experienced a 22% reduction in crime after PanZOu began targeting services in this community! The below graph shows the trend in the same community over the same time periods.

On a city wide level, the following tables show the number of juvenile arrests and the number of juvenile offenses committed between 2003-2007 for the 33162 zip code have been decreasing*:

The tables show a decline in both arrests and number of offenses committed by juveniles during the last five years we have been operating in this City.

*Data obtained from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.