Roca, Inc.

Roca’s mission is to be a relentless force in disrupting incarceration, poverty and racism by partnering with young adults, the police, and systems at the center of urban violence to create safety, address trauma, and find hope.

Roca is a fast-paced, data-driven, and relentless organization that annually serves nearly 1,300 young people at the center of urban violence – the young people most likely to shoot or be shot. Founded just outside of Boston in 1988, Roca operates a nationally acclaimed Intervention Model with five sites in Massachusetts, one in Hartford, CT and one in Baltimore, Maryland. 

Over 34 years, Roca has learned that to impact urban violence, we must work directly with the young people and systems at the center of it. Roca’s Intervention Model engages this population of very high-risk young adults in an intensive four-year program to address trauma, teach life-saving cognitive-behavioral skills, and break the cycle of incarceration and poverty that traditional youth programs alone can’t break. And, because it takes all of us, Roca also helps institutions like police and state agencies change the way they work with young people who are traumatized and living at the intersection of gangs, drugs, poverty, violence, immigration challenges, and involvement with multiple public systems.

Roca’s approach is rooted in understanding brain development, neuroplasticity, and the impact of trauma on the brain; the Intervention Model is built on the foundational theories of Cognitive Behavioral Theory, Stages of Change and Systems Change.

Roca is in a period of tremendous growth as we continue to expand our direct service work, lead policy and system change initiatives in Massachusetts and Maryland, and increase our national footprint through the Roca Impact Institute. Complementing our direct service work, the Roca Impact Institute is the coaching arm of our work that scales Roca’s work to cities across the U.S. that are seeking proven approaches to community violence intervention. The Impact Institute enters into intensive, on-the-ground coaching partnerships, showing communities how to implement our research-based, trauma-informed approach violence intervention.

Roca is a Certified Age Friendly Employer -- https://institute.agefriendly.org/initiatives/certified-age-friendly-employer-program/