City Of Long Beach: California Violence Intervention And Prevention Grant Awarded To Long Beach Department Of Health And Human Services

Long Beach CA

20 June, 2022

5:59 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Long Beach: June 17, 2022 Long Beach, CA – The California Violence Prevention and Intervention Grant Program (CalVIP) awarded a $3.9 million dollar grant to the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (Health Department) to expand its Activating Safe Communities program citywide. The work will focus on 13 neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by gun violence in North and Central Long Beach. "Curbing gun violence is essential to making all communities safe," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "This additional funding which focuses on violence prevention and intervention in our most impacted neighborhoods could not be more timely." In 2020, CalVIP awarded a grant to the Health Department to establish the Activating Safe Communities program (ASC) to address the need for a more coordinated, equitable and comprehensive response to gun violence in the Washington neighborhood in Central Long Beach. ASC focused on developing a Gun Violence Response Protocol (GRVP) and implementing a street outreach-based model that deploys civilian peacekeepers to connect people and families impacted by gun-related incidents with supportive services and economic opportunities. The 2022 CalVIP award enables the Health Department to expand ASC into parts of 13 additional neighborhoods in North and Central Long Beach. These include Addams, Carmelitos, Coolidge Triangle, Dairy, DeForest Park, Grant, Houghton Park and Lindbergh in North Long Beach. Neighborhoods served in Central Long Beach will include Central, Hellman, Rose Park, St. Mary's and Zaferia. These neighborhoods reside in Council Districts 1, 2, 6, 8 and 9. The goals of the program are to: Reduce the number of shootings and gun-related deaths by expanding the Gun Violence Response Protocol citywide. Increase engagement among youth ages 15 to 25 and families affected by gun violence with peacekeepers, who are trained interventionists who either live in or grew up in the impacted neighborhoods. Peacekeepers connect these youth and families with supportive services and economic opportunities. Implement a new collective efficacy strategy to change social norms around gun violence. The recommendation to explore funding opportunities related to the acceleration of this program was brought to the City Council by Vice Mayor Rex Richardson, cosponsored by Councilwomen Mary Zendejas, Cindy Allen and Suely Saro, and supported by the entire City Council. "Long Beach is focused on addressing the root causes of crime and is already making an impact on the neighborhoods that needed it most," said Vice Mayor Rex Richardson. "This additional funding for the Activating Safe Communities Program will help expand efforts to reduce gun violence and help youth explore different pathways for their future. We're creating a safer and healthier Long Beach with more investment in community safety." The Health Department led the development of the GRVP protocol, bringing together partners including the Police Department, Economic Development, Parks, Recreation and Marine, the Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention, the Urban Peace Institute, Long Beach Unified School District and community-based organizations. Expanding the ASC from the Washington neighborhood into additional North and Central neighborhoods will strengthen existing partnerships and forge new ones to carry out this important work. The Police Department's West Division is currently partnering with ASC in the Washington neighborhood and will play a key role in reducing gun violence by supporting GVRP efforts in the North and Central Divisions. Economic Development will connect at-risk and system-impacted youth ages 15 to 25 to the Futures First and Health Emergency Response Opportunity (HERO) Program, educational and career pathways programs jointly operated by the Health Department and ED's Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network (PGWIN). Parks, Recreation and Marine, the Long Beach Unified School District, community-based organizations and neighborhood associations will play a key role in changing social norms around gun violence through social connectedness by implementing ASC-supported recreational activities and programs that transform parks, schools and other public places in Central and North Long Beach into safe spaces where neighbors gather. "Residents living and working in some areas of Central and North Long Beach neighborhoods experience gun violence disproportionately." said Kelly Colopy, Director of Health Department. "By continuing and expanding the work of Activating Safe Communities into these neighborhoods, our City will be able to provide needed resources to families affected by gun violence while reducing and preventing future incidents." Starting in August 2022, the Health Department will begin planning for the expansion of the ASC by hiring staff and bringing on additional partners with expertise in violence intervention and prevention-related program implementation, technical assistance and evaluation. The Activating Safe Communities program is part of the city's overall violence prevention initiative, Long Beach Advancing Peace. Long Beach Advancing Peace is administrated by Health Department's Community Impact Division and located at the Ronald R. Arias Health Equity Center in North Long Beach. CalVIP is administrated by the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC). Health Department's grant proposal ranked third in the state among 15 proposals submitted under the City Applicant Category. About the City of Long Beach Home to approximately 470,000 people, the multiple award-winning and innovative City of Long Beach offers all the world-class amenities of a large metropolitan city while maintaining a strong sense of individual and diverse neighborhoods nestled together along the California coast. As a full-service charter city, Long Beach is home to the Queen Mary, Aquarium of the Pacific, several museums and theaters, a highly-rated school district, Long Beach Airport, the Port of Long Beach, as well as many award-winning City departments such as Health and Human Services; Parks, Recreation and Marine; Development Services; Public Works and more. The City also has a highly respected university and city college, two historic ranchos, five hospitals, 12 libraries, five golf courses, 169 parks, miles of beaches, marinas, bike paths and a Bike Share program. For more information about the City of Long Beach, visit longbeach.gov. Follow us on social to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. This press release was produced by the City of Long Beach. The views expressed here are the author's own.