Kirby Gaherty, Senior Fellow of Community Safety & Harm Reduction outlines the impact of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) intiatives.
On September 18, philanthropic partners, business leaders, city government representatives and advocates for community safety from across the region convened at the True Reformer Building to discuss ways to promote and sustain community safety. Co-hosted by The Community Foundation and Public Welfare Foundation, the event explored the need for increased coordination and planning around violence prevention and intervention.
“DC is known to be resource rich and infrastructure poor,” The Community Foundation’s President & CEO, Tonia Wellons shared. “We are here today to reimagine what that infrastructure of violence prevention looks like.”
Participants first heard from Kirby Gaherty, Senior Fellow of Community Safety & Harm Reduction, as she outlined the four phases in the Public Health Approach to Violence Prevention, which include: 1) Define & Monitor the Problem, 2) Identify Risk & Protective Focus, 3) Develop & Test Protective Strategies, and 4) Assure Widespread Adoption.
She also shared outcomes from other Community Violence Intervention (CVI) initiatives that have been implemented nationally as a way to increase coordination between governmental and nonprofit partners toward safety.
Candice Jones, President & CEO of Public Welfare Foundation
“For too long, nonprofit organizations have been in the trenches; doing the hard work and putting their lives on the frontlines of this battle to keep our communities safe,” Candice Jones, President & CEO of Public Welfare Foundation shared.
“As funders and business leaders, we have a responsibility to step up and invest in the well-being and public safety of the neighborhoods we live and do business in.”
After Jones, participants heard from Kristy Love, Executive Director of the DC Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC). Love is responsible for www.dcjsat.net – a public database which tracks safety data in the District. – This data is key in addressing both national and local media attention on crime, violence and safety in DC.
Love shared a number of insightful statistics that helped participants better understand the state of public safety, as well as the risk factors and trends that researchers have noticed amongst those most likely to be impacted by violence.
Participants also heard from Marcus Ellis, Executive Director of Peace For DC, the organization behind the DC Peace Academy and other efforts to train violence interrupters in the region.
“As we talk about what’s working and not working in DC – we need a plan to ensure that CVI efforts can continue to do the good work that they’re doing in our community,” Ellis shared.
Referencing decades past when funding for CVI efforts was discontinued in the District, he added, “The work must go on – we’ve already seen the impacts of not having CVI as part of our ecosystem.”
Dr. Joseph Richardson stresses the need for CVI coordination across jurisdictions.
Invited attendees – such as Dr. Joseph Richardson, who leads PROGRESS, the multidisciplinary gun violence research initiative at the University of Maryland – were quick to point out the need for CVI to be inclusive and coordinated both within DC and across the region.
“40% of gun violence fatalities in DC last year weren’t from DC,” Dr. Richardson pointed out. “They were from Prince George’s County.”
“Death does not have boundaries; violence does not have boundaries. We need new approaches that go beyond jurisdictions and provide more holistic solutions.”
“I’d like to see this work be built into the code that transcends not only political administrations, but philanthropic leadership,” shared David Bowers, Vice President and Senior Advisor for Enterprise Community Partners. “We need CVI work to be codified so that it’s no longer a question of whether or not this work gets funded – it’ll just be a part of how we do business in this city.”
“Until we are able to make sure the funding is consistent, this work will always be at risk.”
David Bowers, VP and Senior Advisor for Enterprise Community Partners
Tonia Wellons concluded the discussion by sharing opportunities to be a part of the “Core Team” – a group of philanthropic, government, and community partners who will come together around a strategy to advance DC’s Community Safety ecosystem. Like the Partnership to End Homelessness, this group will allow stakeholders to come together to influence local action, fund the infrastructure and drive strategy around this critical issue.
The Community Foundation, Public Welfare Foundation, Peace For DC and Federal City Council are committed members of the Core Team.
“We invite you to join with us in expanding the tent – bringing voices to the table and crafting a plan for a region where everyone can not only live safe but can thrive.”
Over the next few months, The Community Foundation, alongside members of the Core Team, will engage with one another (as well as with broader stakeholder groups) and build the collaborative table around community safety in DC. Our immediate next steps include analyzing components of local and national violence reduction plans, aligning around a strategy tailored for this region, and through collective action and accountability, move toward the implementation.
If you or your organization would like to be a part of this important initiative, please contact Kirby Gaherty, Senior Fellow of Community Safety and Harm Reduction at kgaherty@thecommunityfoundation.org