Meet ‘Firefighter' in Middle of New York Hospital's War Against Gun Violence

Rachel Rippetoe

January 21, 2020 |

Juvenile Justice Information Exchange |

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Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Guns Down Life Up intervenes immediately after incidents of gun violence to prevent retaliation, but then goes further to counsel at-risk youth and to provide victim counseling to help families in the wake of violence. Part of a growing movement of hospital-based violence intervention, the group’s “credible messengers” work in Harlem and South Bronx hospitals to interrupt the cycles of violence that often result in repeat victimization, which anecdotally at least it can show has worked. Then its counseling gives youth safe activities off the streets and teaches better conflict mediation tactics.

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The Cycle Of Chronic Gun Violence: How One Community Looks To Save Lives In A New Year

Adhiti Bandlamudi

January 15, 2020 |

WUNC |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

Gun homicides in Durham increased an alarming 20% in 2019, but one bright spot was the county public health department's Bull City United program. Since 2016, BCU is credited with reducing shootings by 28% in two areas where it was deployed. BCU follows the Cure Violence model, a violence interruption strategy using mediators, sometimes former gang members, to intervene face to face when disputes seem headed for gunfire, offering services to help young people. This public-health model of stopping the spread of violence can fail if used in a transient neighborhood lacking community organizers.

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Reporting for Work Where You Once Reported for Probation

Ted Alcorn

December 13, 2019 |

The Atlantic |

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Response Location: United States, New York, New York

Since 2012, the New York City Department of Probation’s Arches program has integrated “credible messengers” into its mission, diverting some energies toward helping instead of punishing. The term refers to people, often formerly incarcerated or on probation themselves, who apply their street knowledge to mentoring youth caught up in the criminal justice system. The movement has spread to a variety of government agencies, but usually is used in street-outreach crime prevention work by community organizations. A large body of research shows the effectiveness of the approach in lowered crime and recidivism.

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Philly wants to bring back a version of an old strategy to fight gun violence. Specifics are pending.

Chris Palmer

December 06, 2019 |

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia Media Network) |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Starting in 2013, Philadelphia's focused deterrence program was credited with 35% fewer shootings in its targeted neighborhoods. The program featured "call-ins" where law-enforcement agencies would threaten potentially violent people with prosecution. On the flip side, they could receive services that help them establish a different lifestyle. As the program shifted away from the services "carrots," and was left only with the "stick," the program foundered. In 2019, the city sought to revive it as a "group violence intervention" program with a greater emphasis on services over law enforcement.

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After positive results, Minneapolis looks to expand anti-violence program

Jessica Lee

November 18, 2019 |

MinnPost |

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Response Location: United States, Minneapolis, Minnesota

About 40% fewer people were shot in gang-related disputes in Minneapolis during one interval in the first year of the city's Group Violence Intervention initiative. The program uses "call-ins" where people at high risk of shootings meet with law enforcement and other agencies. There they are offered incentives, including needed services, to stop the shootings. It also puts former gang members on the streets, without police involvement, to mediate disputes and counsel young men prone to violence. Based on the initial results, officials planned to expand the program to more parts of the city.

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Armed with trumpets, S. African men fight crime against women

Kim Harrisberg

September 30, 2019 |

Thomson Reuters Foundation |

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Response Location: South Africa, Johannesburg

Volunteers patrol Soweto township streets, blowing vuvuzelas – the long, plastic trumpets of World Cup fame – to alert women that it is safe to commute to their train or bus stops. The male-led campaign is a response to high rates of street violence, much of it gender-based, and the failure of the police to respond effectively. Thousands of volunteers work in groups of up to 15 to provide the service, which police credit with lowering robberies and other street crime. The patrols often intervene when they witness violence.

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If violence spreads like a disease, it can be interrupted. How a new team in Milwaukee is trying to stop one shooting leading to another.

Ashley Luthern Sydney Czyzon

September 25, 2019 |

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |

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Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Milwaukee’s 414LIFE program is treating violence like a public health issue, seeking to interrupt and prevent its spread. The pilot program is a collaboration between the city’s Office of Violence Prevention, local nonprofits, and hospitals and healthcare networks. The initiative works closely with victims of violence to make sure they have the support and resources they need to prevent violent retaliation and employs people who are from the communities they’re responding to in an effort to take a hyper-local response.

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Fighting Gun Violence in Chicago, With Trees, Rakes, and Cleanup Crews

Brian Freskos

September 18, 2019 |

The Trace |

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Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Chicago is trying something new when it comes to violence prevention: beautifying public spaces that have been known to be places of violence. The city has launched an official pilot program called Grounds for Peace, which partners with READI Chicago to provide jobs within the initiative to at-risk men. While the effort to beautify has shown a decrease in gun violence in other cities, Chicago residents approach this with caution, as the neighborhoods its working within are often neglected.

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What Gun Violence Prevention Looks Like When It Focuses on the Communities Hurt the Most

Elizabeth Van Brocklin

July 10, 2019 |

The Trace |

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Response Location: United States, Oakland, California

Across the United States, gun violence prevention initiatives are finally turning their attention to the urban communities hit hardest and supporting community-driven approaches. In the past, financial support has gone to linear, legislative approaches to gun control that often favor white communities, but the tides are turning. Funding has shifted to focus on initiatives that provide trauma recovery centers, hospital-based centers, and programs that provide communities hit the hardest with mentorship, job training, and therapy – all initiatives that have proven to help break the cycle of gun violence.

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What if Fort Worth hired ex-convicts to fight violent crime? It's working elsewhere

Nichole Manna

June 24, 2019 |

Fort Worth Star-Telegram |

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Response Location: United States, Richmond, California

Within a year of founding its Office of Neighborhood Safety to prevent gun violence, Richmond saw its most violent neighborhood drop from 27 murders to three. The program pairs former gang members and formerly incarcerated men with people deemed at risk of shooting others or getting shot. The mentors are paid a salary by the city, and the program "fellows" get paid a stipend if they stay out of trouble and respond well to the program's life-skills counseling. The program expanded citywide and to other cities, based on its record of keeping fellows alive and shootings in decline.

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