Project abstract project title: acenda cvipi multi-county coalition applicant name: acenda, INC

Acenda, Inc. was awarded a $1.5 million project grant from the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) federal grant program. The grant will fund Acenda Integrated Health to convene a multi-county gun violence intervention and prevention coalition in southern New Jersey from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2025. The coalition will utilize credible messengers and multi-sector partnerships to develop a community-specific violence reduction strategic plan for over 126,000 residents in six cities - Penns Grove, Salem City, Paulsboro, Bridgeton, Millville, and Vineland - that have experienced significant growth in gun violence incidents. The proposed model is intended to supplement existing gun violence prevention and intervention programming within the identified counties through data-driven strategies tailored to the unique safety needs of rural communities.

Acenda integrated health proposes to convene a TRI-county gun violence intervention and prevention coalition which utilizes credible messengers, multi-sector partnerships and data-driven strategies to address the unique safety needs of rural communities in southern new jersey. Research has clearly demonstrated that the same factors which impact gun violence in large urban centers also significantly affect smaller, rural communities. However, rural communities tend to have less access to much needed resources and funding in order to develop an appropriate infrastructure which disrupts the cycles of violence. The agency plans to engage populations which have not only historically been as impacted as larger urban centers by increasing trends of gun violence, but due to the remote locations and exacerbating socioeconomic and infrastructure challenges have been significantly more damaged in terms of overall stability and access to supports. This essential funding will allow the acenda cvipi coalition to develop a community-specific violence reduction strategic plan for the 126,588 residents in six southern new jersey cities that have experienced significant growth in gun violence incidents: penns grove (salem county), salem city (salem county), paulsboro (gloucester county), bridgeton (cumberland county), millville (cumberland county), and vineland (cumberland county). The proposed model is intended to supplement existing gun violence prevention and intervention programming within the identified counties.