In Washington, D.C., violent crime has increased by 28% since 2021, and homicide rates rose 14% between 2020 and 2021, with the greatest effects in communities facing persistent social and economic challenges, and a particularly high impact on young males. To address this urgent public health issue, the Prevention and Community Health Department within the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (GWSPH), together with Mint, Inc., Don’t Shoot Guns, Shoot Cameras, DC Housing Authority/Highlands Addition Community Center, the DC Office of the Attorney General, and the DC Office on Gun Violence Prevention/Building Blocks, propose a collaborative effort to develop, implement and evaluate a community-level youth firearms prevention intervention in two phases – a developmental Phase One (UG3), and an implementation Phase Two (UH3). The proposed intervention, Changing the Narrative on Firearms Violence, will use a theory-driven approach to identify and implement positive, non-violent achievement pathways for youth with the support of a community collaborative structure, and to develop and disseminate media content that highlights the availability and benefits of these positive pathways. Specifically, the proposed project will: 1) Collaborate closely with the CLIF-VP cooperative agreement throughout all phases; 2) In Phase One (UG3), conduct formative research to refine intervention components, including the identification of non-violent youth pathways, intervention branding themes, and communication channels; establish a Community Steering Committee; and develop and pilot test data collection tools; 3) In Phase Two, implement the intervention, conduct data collection through baseline and two follow-up surveys with youth ages 12-16 and a parent/guardian, gather qualitative data to help assess impacts, monitor community violence data, analyze results, share findings through the CLIF-VP, and disseminate outcomes in partnership with community collaborators.