Juvenile Justice System: Breaking the Cycle of Violence to Peace-Making with Iran Nazario

Trigger warning: this episode has vivid references to physical violence.

In this episode, we talk with a prior youth in the juvenile justice system about how the cycle of violence started in his own life and what it took him to break it and become a peacemaker for himself, his family, and his community. 

Our guest, Iran was a foster child in the custody of DCF in his childhood who then immersed himself in to the violent street culture of gang membership and prison though his twenties. In the1990’s he began to repurpose himself to helping youth avoid his childhood path and in the early 2000’s he began leading organizations working to reduce violence across the State of Connecticut. 

 He has worked in the program management, gang prevention, youth outreach, youth engagement and support field for 30 years. He is an expert in Gang Prevention and Mediation and provides training to many groups serving youth who are deemed in risk. 

Working in partnership with the Hartford Connecticut Police Department in June of 2015 Iran was “Badged” by the department to serve as a community/law enforcement partner. In this role Iran is to serve as an intermediary in city wide crisis situations under President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative.

In 2016 he Founded the Peace Center of Connecticut where he serves as President/CEO. He is the recipient of numerous recognitions including the 2014 “Meet the Peacemaker Award and in 2017 was appointed as the International Peace Ambassador for the NYC Peace Museum.

Resources mentioned on the show:
Peace Center of Connecticut website

Originally aired on July 10, 2020.