In collaboration with two other cbos active in group violence intervention (GVI), three hospital-based violence intervention programs (hvips), and a research institution, community of change INC.…

The Community of Change, Inc. (COC) was awarded a $2,000,000 Project Grant under the Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CFDA 16.045) by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance. The grant will support a regional Group Violence Intervention (GVI) program in partnership with two other community-based organizations, three hospital-based violence intervention programs, and a research institution across five high-crime cities in Southeastern Virginia. Key activities include hiring staff with GVI experience, providing behavioral threat assessment training, and delivering street intervention, mentorship, and case management services to approximately 200 individuals per year experiencing firearm-related injuries, trauma, or familial death. The program aims to reduce recidivism, retaliation, and gun-related injuries/deaths by 10% over the 3-year grant period.

Purpose

To foster cooperation and coordination among several key organizations already active in southeastern virginias GVI ecosystem by leveraging these partnerships to (a) identify high-risk individuals in three local level i and level II trauma centers; (b) share/refer consistent information regarding participants experiencing firearm-related injuries, trauma, or familial death resulting from a violent incident; (c) provide case management support services to better address social determinants of health in target neighborhoods; and (d) provide a replicable model of success for other regional GVI partnerships across the country. Primary activities: in addition to facilitating behavioral assessment training tools such as dcjss behavioral threat assessment (BTA) and the national association of school psychologists behavioral threat assessment and management (btam) framework to identify and preempt threats among target populations, COC will convene, coordinate, and support the activities of program staff across all partner agencies. Each subrecipient will provide services outlined in their respective MOU and scope of work to include street intervention, mentorship, and/or individual case management.

Expected outcomes

(a) reduction of recidivism, retaliation, and reported gun-related injuries/deaths in target populations (ages 1039) by 10 percent over a 3-year period. (b) annual enrollment of 200 individuals experiencing firearm-related injuries, trauma, or familial death resulting from a violent incident in five cities. (c) improvement in mental health and wellbeing assessments following interventions for 75 percent of participants. Service area: underserved neighborhoods with a high social vulnerability index (SVI) across the five cities mentioned, including (but not limited to) ZIP codes 23704, 23507, 23669, 23607, and 23320.