CASE aims to see a South African society in which its citizens feel safe in their communities and in their own country. CASE seeks to break the cycle of crime and violence in which young people live by equipping community members to recognize and respond appropriately to both the causes and effects of crime and violence in their communities. CASE works through three integrated programmes Therapy and Treatment Programme Awareness Raising Programme Community Development Programme.

There are a number of risk factors for children becoming violent: poverty, blocked opportunities, lack of services in public, low-cost housing, poor school facilities, unemployment, lack of sense of identity and belonging and substance abuse. The experience of violence within the home is also crucial. Boys, in particular, if they experience or witness domestic violence are at risk for becoming perpetrators themselves. Girls seem more likely to display behaviour which is harmful to themselves such as self-mutilation or sexual promiscuity.

The Youth-in-Action initiative focuses on holistic approaches to addressing the complex and interlinked causes and effects of violence. In response CASE wishes to facilitate the implementation of specific targeted programmes aimed at empowering our youth and providing them with greater access to developmental opportunities. One of the needs in an under-resourced community such as Hanover Park is activities outside of school hours which are recreational and constructive. CASE is about to implement Ghetto MADD (Music, Art, drama and Dance), a youth arts project where one afternoon a week, a programme will be run for youth by trained arts. These workshops will be run at one of the secondary schools but will be open to all youths from the community including the three secondary schools in the area.

Youth will be selected to participate in 5 creative arts disciplines in which they will learn creative skills and work towards performance or exhibition standard. The five artistic disciplines being taught at the workshops will be:

• Drama – issue-based community theatre
• Arts and Crafts
• Dancing – Hip-hop and contemporary dancing
• Media/Music
• Singing and Music Youth will be streamed into different workshops with the above themes.

Youth will commit to attending regular workshops for 3 months at a time so-as to encourage discipline and continuity for their facilitator and participants. Each workshop can then work towards specific items. 

This would expose youth to other career opportunities in the arts, encourage them to study further in these disciplines, and give back to the community. These workshops would culminate in a show case of the arts being performed and artworks exhibited in the civic centre for the community