GREEN BAY, Wis. — The City of Green Bay’s Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) opened its new community center Monday.

This safe space includes a music studio, podcasting and video capabilities and a community library.

“Our mission is to connect with community members who have the potential to be closest to violence in our community by building meaningful relationships, coaching toward success and using proven life skills, training and really mindset shifting in order to reduce the impact of violence in our community,” Andrea Kressin, the director of OVP, said. “So this home base is a fantastic way for us to do this work.”

Kressin said the space will also offer drop-in hours for young people and on-site workshops.

“There are a number of communities across the country who have already put programming like this in place,” she said. “And we locally built something that will meet our community’s needs and we are making sure to engage with our participants and our community members who need us the most.” 

Watch the full interview above.