THE SITUATION

 

In New York City, intimate partner and family violence continues to affect individuals and families across neighborhoods, often long before systems formally intervene. While community-based organizations are deeply trusted and well-positioned to respond, many lack the infrastructure, training, and coordinated support needed to identify early warning signs, intervene safely, and sustain prevention efforts over time.

 

Recognizing this gap, WhenLoveWorks Dynamically® (WLWD) partnered with the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) within the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ), alongside the United Way of New York, to launch Loveleader NYC — a multi-year initiative supported by a six-figure public investment focused on strengthening prevention capacity at the neighborhood level.

 

The initiative required a clear narrative, strong stakeholder alignment, and communications systems capable of supporting scale, accountability, and trust across public agencies, funders, community organizations, and residents.

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THE SOLUTION

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Loveleader NYC was supported by a strategic communications and outreach framework designed to move the program from concept to citywide implementation. The work focused on three core pillars:

 

1. Strategic Narrative & Stakeholder Alignment

A cohesive messaging framework was developed to align city partners, funders, facilitators, and community organizations around a shared goal: preventing relational harm before it escalates. Messaging balanced policy priorities with community-centered language, ensuring accessibility without diluting impact.

 

2. Community-Centered Outreach & Engagement

Targeted outreach strategies were implemented to recruit participants and partner sites, prioritize trusted community spaces, and maintain consistent communication throughout the program lifecycle. This ensured participation was both broad and deeply rooted in the neighborhoods served.

 

3. Program Innovation: The Love Leader Ambassador Model

To support sustainability and peer-led growth, the team co-created the Love Leader Ambassador Program, empowering program graduates to recruit future participants, identify host locations, support engagement through tabling and partner meetings, and serve as trusted connectors within their communities.

 

This approach shifted Loveleader NYC from a traditional training model to a community-owned ecosystem of prevention, leadership, and ongoing support.

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THE SUCCESS

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The combined strategy, delivered through close collaboration across teams and partners, produced measurable outcomes and lasting community presence:

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• Expanded Reach & Participation

  68 participants were successfully recruited into the Love Leader 101 coaching series through targeted outreach and Ambassador-led recruitment, resulting in diverse cohorts across multiple community sites.

• Stronger Engagement & Retention

  The Ambassador Program played a critical role in sustaining participation through peer encouragement, relationship maintenance, and on-the-ground presence at community events and partner meetings.

• Demonstrated Skill Development

  More than 85% of participants showed improved ability to identify unhealthy relationship dynamics and apply early intervention strategies. Over 80% reported increased confidence in fostering and maintaining healthy relationships within their families and communities.

• Visible, Place-Based Impact

  By inviting site stakeholders to select meaningful leave-behind elements such as art installations or benches, each location retained a tangible reminder of the program’s presence and values, reinforcing prevention as a shared, ongoing commitment.

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CONCLUSION

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Loveleader NYC demonstrates what’s possible when policy, funding, communications, and community leadership move in alignment. Through intentional storytelling, strategic outreach, and program design rooted in lived experience, the initiative helped translate a significant public investment into real-world capacity, trust, and change at the neighborhood level.

 

The success of Loveleader NYC underscores the role of strategic communications not as an afterthought, but as core infrastructure. When paired with strong partnerships and community leadership, communications become a lever for scale, sustainability, and systems-level impact.

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ROLE: Strategic communications and narrative support as part of a cross-sector team advancing a city-funded, multi-year community violence-prevention initiative.