SNUG Utica

Let’s celebrate this weekend in all the ways we love to do… together with great friends, family AND of course some good food!

Be safe. Have fun. And have a very Happy 4th!

Our community has experienced a tragedy.

In lieu of the work that needs to be done and the healing that needs to begin… we have made the decision to postpone today’s Kickball Tournament. SNUG supports this long running tournament because it is reflective of our work and is played in remembrance of those we have lost because of gun violence.

We will pause today… we will get to work… and we will provide additional information about rescheduling as soon as we have them 🧡

This Saturday come support each team as they represent their loved ones lost to gun violence!! 🧡💪🏽👏🏽

Happy Juneteenth, friends! Be safe today... celebrate today... and reflect on the history that led us to today.

SNUG Utica went orange for Gun Violence Prevention Month, having team members stop by our office to enjoy some orange snacks AND tie dye some custom SNUG shirts. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and who helps us continue our work raising awareness and preventing further gun violence in our community.

Today is a day to reflect and thank the men in our lives who keep us going and support us on our journeys in life. Happy Father's Day.

June is Gun Violence Awareness Month and to honor those we lost to gun violence SNUG is sponsoring “Ya Boy H” 7th annual Kickball Tournament 🧡

If you would like to honor a loved one lost to gun violence by putting a team together, please reach out to Angel Martinez. All vendors are welcomed as well!

It's a day to reflect and remember as we also enjoy being present with our family and friends. Happy Memorial Day!

Yesterday SNUG spent the most beautiful day with our supportive community 🧡

First pop-up cookout of the season 💪🏽

TODAY 🥳

Tuesday, May 21st SNUG will be hosting their first pop-up community cookout!!! Come out & enjoy food & fun.

Tuesday, May 21st SNUG will be hosting their first pop-up community cookout!!! Come out & enjoy food & fun.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, and the women that step in to be mom figures in the lives of our youth when they need it most. We see you and appreciate you. Enjoy your day!

We see you, we hear you, and we support you💚👏🏽 💙

From Niagara Falls to Wyandanch — and a dozen communities in between — our brave Street Outreach teams use their lived experiences and credibility to mediate conflicts, prevent retaliation, and guide at-risk youth toward better paths every day.

This week, these professionals, joined by violence interrupters from programs based in New York City, convened this week in Albany for our three-day SNUG Conference. The event wrapped today with breakout sessions, awards, goodbyes, and, of course, group photos. We can’t wait until next year!

Out of 14 sites statewide, Angel Martinez took home Outreach Worker Supervisor of the YEAR!! 💪🏽Angel has been one of the greatest assets to our SNUG family 🧡 Congratulations 👏🏽 Angel Martinez

Day 2 of the SNUG Street Outreach Annual Conference

-We discussed “Implicit Bias”
-We learned how to “heal the healer”
-And we also worked with the “cope dealers” to push healing to our communities 🧡

Day 1 of SNUG Street Outreach Annual Conference! Benny the Butcher was the guest speaker 🧡

Happy Earth Day 🌱 🌎

Hey SNUG family!!! Do us a favor and head on over to ICAN’s page and vote for SNUG’s Pinwheel for

Also, scan the QR code on our pinwheel to listen to some of our fav music from our childhood 🩵🫶🏽🩶

We have been doing the work in Utica for just over a year and paused to reflect on our 2023 impact. Check out the numbers. Learn more about the work:
https://ican.family/news/a-year-of-the-work-with-snug-utica

Gun violence in communities affects EVERYONE. Read up on us and help us spread the word.

Eid Mabarak to everyone in our community who is celebrating today! Peace, light, good health and joy to you, friends!

Let’s give it up for the OG’s who took home the WIN🏆🥇 at our SNUG MADNESS event! And Big shoutout to the young OG’s who brought their A-GAME 💪🏽🏀

Congratulations to everyone who participated and placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the skills challenge, three point and free throw contest 🥇🥈🥉

A big thank you to WKTV NEWSChannel 2 for covering our SNUG Madness event yesterday at the Rec Center in Utica!

Snug Madness The second annual Snug Madness basketball tournament took place at the Parkway Rec Center in Utica this weekend.

We hope everyone celebrating has a great day spending it with family, friends and other loved ones in their lives. Happy Easter!

TODAY! 4-7 Parkway Rec Center ⛹🏼‍♂️⛹🏼⛹🏾‍♀️

Good morning SNUG family!!!

Don’t forget this Saturday from 4-7 we have our SNUG MADNESS event at the Parkway Rec Center 🥇⛹🏼‍♂️⛹🏽⛹🏾‍♀️🏀

Come out and enjoy free food, community love and a good game 🏀🏆

*Thank you to the Utica Youth Bureau for providing the space*

Good morning SNUG family!!!

Don’t forget this Saturday from 4-7 we have our SNUG MADNESS event at the Parkway Rec Center 🥇⛹🏼‍♂️⛹🏽⛹🏾‍♀️🏀

Come out and enjoy free food, community love and a good game 🏀🏆

*Thank you to the Utica Youth Bureau for providing the space*

Congratulations to Ali Howard and Britt Weibel for completing their SNUG Education Training (SET) today. As always, we love hosting this training and other events right here in Utica with SNUG sites from around New York State.

Gun violence in any form can leave a lasting impact on individuals. That’s why we use the term ‘survivor’ as inclusive of anyone who has personally experienced gun violence—whether you have witnessed an act of gun violence, been threatened or wounded with a gun, or had someone you cared for wounded or killed with a gun. This includes but is not limited to gun suicides, domestic violence involving a gun, and unintentional shootings.

This is a great personal spotlight on our Program Manager Shannon Patterson for from New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services

Give her some love in the comments - she is out doing the work and living the work in our city every day!

To mark , Utica SNUG Program Manager Shannon Paterson, MSW shares why she chose to work with the program, which is new to her city and uses a public health approach to reduce shootings and save lives: identify, interrupt and treat it:

On my 15th birthday, one of my good friends was shot and killed in his home. That was my first experience losing someone to gun violence and sadly since then, I have lost eight more people the same way. I chose to work for SNUG because I knew I had to be a part of the solution.

I knew attending funerals and prison sentencings of my family and friends was not the norm. I knew I could be a part of something that made a change for the better.

The work that I do is rewarding because I witness the transformations. I have the opportunity to witness these individuals go from “boys” to “men” with a purpose, and the knowledge needed to navigate through life.

I can be exactly (the person) I needed as a young adult to the high-risk individuals that I work with, and I can positively influence every individual I encounter. I can change their outlook on life and in return, I can learn from them.

cc:

Integrated Community Alternatives Network (ICAN)
Everytown for Gun Safety