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Los Angeles County
Department of Public Health 
Office of Violence Prevention

December 2025

As 2025 comes to a close, the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) is grateful for the many community and county partnerships and connections that have collectively advanced a vision of a violence free LA County. Together we have worked with community leaders, survivors, parks, libraries, schools, the healthcare sector and others to create safe spaces, peaceful communities, and opportunities for healing. In a year that has been marked by uncertainty and profound change for many in our communities, we have been required to adapt, listen and respond with intention. Through it all, OVP remains steadfast in our commitment to collaboration and to advancing a shared mission of ending violence in Los Angeles County. I am also grateful for the dedication and hard work of the entire OVP team whose commitment and resourcefulness make this work possible.

We are incredibly excited about the work accomplished in 2025 despite the many challenges. Below are a few of this year's highlights made possible through the dedication of our county partners, community-based organizations, faith-based leaders and community members who work every day to prevent violence and promote healing.

Thank you for your continued partnership. We look forward to building on this momentum in 2026 as we dive deeper, stretch farther, and work harder to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to be safe and thrive.

Andrea Welsing, MPH
Executive Director, Office of Violence Prevention
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

OVP’s Gun Safety Initiative Team continued to distribute free gun safety locks and educational materials, conduct community trainings and increase awareness of and access to gun safety resources throughout Los Angeles County.

Highlights of this work include:

• Distributed over 48,000 gun locks to encourage safe gun storage.
• Delivered 43 gun safety trainings and presentations, reaching more than 1,400 people.
• Tabled at 35 community events, connecting with more than 6,000 attendees.
• Engaged new partners to support gun safety efforts, including libraries in Pasadena and Altadena, Pasadena Public Health Department, multiple Kaiser Permanente facilities, and DPH’s Wellness Communities.

In June 2025, OVP completed a two-year youth suicide prevention pilot project funded by the California Department of Public Health. The pilot tested new strategies for using data to identify suicidal behavior and provide support to youth in LA County. Highlights of this work include:

• Developing data reports, maps, and a data dashboard to increase education and awareness.
• Provided support groups for youth who have lost a loved one from suicide in SPAs 1 and 2. There were 31 total support group sessions, with 80% of session participants reporting that they learned coping skills.
• Embedded medical case workers in two emergency departments to provide post-discharge care coordination for youth and their families after treatment for a suicide attempt. In less than 4 months, 71 youth were referred to the care coordinators and 33 enrolled in the program.
• Launched a countywide media campaign to reduce stigma around talking about suicidal thoughts. The campaign had over 14 million views of social media posts and local messaging.
• Distributed suicide prevention and mental health materials across Los Angeles County, strengthening collaboration and community capacity. This included sharing the Never a Bother suicide prevention campaign materials with 65 agencies and departments.
• Coordinated with the Department of Mental Health and other trainers to provide suicide prevention training opportunities for staff at youth-serving organizations. To date, nine trainings have been scheduled.

Through funding from the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA), OVP continued the School Safety Transformation (SST) Initiative with five community-based organizations implementing holistic school safety strategies:

Together, community-based organizations and school districts worked to support a shift to a care first, restorative, community-driven approach that enhances partnerships with community organizations, assures alignment with current effective programs and safety mandates and lift-up best practices. SST assists county partners in providing added value to support schools to address community safety, center youth and families in transformative school safety efforts and ensure they have a leadership role in implementation. Participating partners include:

• Just Us 4 Youth and Pomona Unified (1st District)
• Centinela Youth Services and Compton Unified (2nd District)
• Inner City Visions and Diego Rivera Learning Complex, LAUSD (2nd District)
• Southern California Crossroads and Lynwood Unified (4th District)
• HELPER Foundation and Antelope Valley Districts (5th District)

The Probation Department provided an additional round of Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA) funding to OVP to support the Trauma Prevention Initiative’s (TPI) Capacity Building Training and Technical Assistance Initiative during 2025-2026. A total of 20 community-based organizations within TPI communities were selected to participate in the Capacity Building program. TPI’s contracted agency, Los Angeles Centers for Alcohol and Drug Abuse (LACADA) will continue to facilitate training and technical assistance and provide a $50,000 mini grant to each community-based organization to enhance existing programs.

OVP partnered with the Second District on a Racial Justice Learning Exchange event in May 2025, “Advancing Racial Justice & Health Equity Through Community-Centered Violence Prevention." The event highlighted violence prevention efforts, specifically TPI’s South LA Community Action for Peace (CAP) stakeholder networks. Community leaders from each CAP facilitated breakout conversations to discuss community needs, concerns, and opportunities to connect with local community-based efforts to prevent violence.

OVP continued to implement the Healing Center Community Violence Intervention Initiative, which is funded by a grant from the US Department of Justice, Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative. See more details in the DOJ’s press release. The award of $2,000,000 over three years will allow OVP to expand investment in TPI communities by increasing the accessibility of mental health and healing services for youth and young adult survivors of violence, ages 14-30, and the frontline case managers and intervention workers who support them. The Initiative will focus on the TPI communities of East LA, Westmont West Athens, Willowbrook, Florence Firestone, and unincorporated Compton.

In response to recent actions by immigration enforcement agents, OVP staff developed a comprehensive resource guide and distributed Know Your Rights Red Cards to communities most impacted by ICE activity. This effort reflects OVP’s commitment to the core principles of public health: equity, compassion, promoting wellbeing, and preventing harm, by supporting all communities across Los Angeles County, regardless of immigration status.

OVP remains dedicated to ensuring that immigrant residents and our community partners have access to accurate, timely information and resources. To learn more, please visit the LA County Office of Immigrant Affairs’ Know Your Rights webpage for a full list of available supports.

In April 2025, OVP launched the Los Angeles County Sexual Assault Council (LAC SAC) to strengthen coordination, improve service accessibility, and advance prevention and healing for survivors. Through a series of convenings, the council identified service gaps, refined system navigation strategies, and established priority areas that will guide countywide action to support survivors.

OVP, in partnership with Southern California Grantmakers, invested $2 million countywide for gender-based violence prevention (GBV) strategies. Twelve community-based organizations were awarded funding through Public Health’s GBV Prevention Community Grant. This represents the first time Los Angeles County has allocated funding of this scale for GBV prevention efforts. Awardees were selected through a competitive review process and represent a diverse and dynamic group of organizations committed to advancing GBV prevention, healing, and safety across Los Angeles County.

In 2025, OVP developed the Check for Respect: Teen Dating Violence Prevention Toolkit, a resource designed to help teens and young adults recognize the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships. It also provides guidance for adults in identifying when a young person may need help.

The toolkit includes a poster, postcard, handout and stickers that educate about respect, consent and boundaries in dating relationships. OVP developed the toolkit in collaboration with county departments and youth-serving organizations. We want to disseminate the toolkit as widely as possibly to youth and agencies/providers that work with youth and are currently working to expand the toolkit to include a journal intended to encourage self-reflection. You can download the toolkit and request toolkit materials on the Check for Respect website.

In June 2025, OVP welcomed the 2025-2027 Community Partnership Council (CPC), a diverse group of community leaders, representatives from community-based organizations, survivors, and Trauma Prevention Initiative (TPI) Community Action for Peace (CAP) representatives. The CPC was originally established in 2019 to ensure community involvement in the governance of OVP and provide guidance in how OVP achieves its purpose and mission.  This 2nd cohort will help shape OVP’s 2026-2030 strategic plan, provide oversight to ensure accountability and serve as liaisons between community networks, OVP and county departments.

The OVP Crisis Response Program in collaboration with Tessie Cleveland and local trainers, hosted a series of workshops in South Los Angeles to equip faith leaders, lay leaders, and community members with tools to support individuals impacted by trauma and grief. The trainings emphasized trauma-informed community engagement and grief-informed care, enabling participants from diverse congregations to foster resilience, create safe spaces for healing, and provide compassionate, culturally responsive support.  

OVP hosted a reflective grief walk for more than 170 community members to create space to honor grief, foster connection, and promote healing. The event united county agencies, community-based organizations, nonprofit partners, local artists, faith-based organizations, local churches, and faith leaders to cultivate a culturally responsive space for emotional wellness.

OVP Recognition & Awards

2025 Productivity and Quality Awards Three OVP initiatives received recognition through the 2025 Productivity and Quality Awards, which celebrate innovation, efficiency, and impact across county departments. Award Recipients:

• Top Ten Award: Protecting and Saving Lives with Safety Locks – Patty Hernandez, Mia Livas Porter, and the GVPP Team
• Outstanding Teamwork Award: Building Safety in LA Communities – Aarti Harper and the TPI Team
• Special Merit Award: Partnering to Prevent and Mitigate Trauma – Ray Zacarias and the ARPA Trauma Prevention Partnerships Team

The Family Assistance Program (FAP) received a National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award, a national recognition for innovative county government programs. To learn more about FAP and read the Annual report go here.

Peacemaker Spotlight In Honor of Dr. Aquil Basheer: A Legacy of Leadership, Discipline, and Community Healing

It is with profound sadness that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention extends its deepest condolences on the passing of Dr. Aquil Basheer, Founder of The BUILD Program and the Professional Community Intervention Training Institute (PCITI).

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention extends our deepest condolences on the passing of Dr. Aquil Basheer, Founder of The BUILD Program and the Professional Community Intervention Training Institute (PCITI).

Dr. Basheer was a visionary leader whose pioneering work transformed the field of community violence intervention locally, nationally, and across the globe. For decades, he dedicated his life to equipping frontline practitioners with the discipline, knowledge, and courage needed to prevent violence, de-escalate high-risk situations, and strengthen community safety. His influence touched countless lives in Los Angeles County, including Norwalk, Hawaiian Gardens, and the many communities his work uplifted.

More than a strategist, Dr. Basheer was a teacher, mentor, and powerful voice for justice. His commitment to developing community-centered solutions, empowering those with lived experience, and building safe, connected neighborhoods leaves an enduring legacy that will guide this work for generations to come.

We are grateful for the years of partnership and collaboration with Dr. Basheer and the BUILD/PCITI team. His teachings, leadership, and unwavering dedication to community healing remain embedded in the foundation of our shared mission.

 We honor his extraordinary life by continuing the work he championed—with the compassion, integrity, and disciplined commitment he exemplified every day.

May his memory be a blessing, and may his legacy continue to inspire us to build safer, stronger, and more resilient communities.

Train-the-Trainer Workshop

Building Community
Through Care & Connection

The Youth Suicide Prevention team invites OVP partners who work with youth in any capacity or in youth-centered spaces to a new workshop facilitated by CARE4LA.

January 6, 2026 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
January 8, 2026 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
The workshop is offered on two dates; interested participants may choose either session.

The California Endowment – Mojave Room
1000 Alameda Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

This workshop provides a compassionate, developmentally appropriate approach to grief and suicide prevention, presented through a Train-the-Trainer model that equips staff and youth leaders with the tools to support young people through healing. By integrating youth development principles with professional capacity-building, this training promotes resilience, emotional growth, and hope within youth-serving communities.

To attend, please contact Ana Leiva at aleiva@ph.lacounty.gov or (213) 773-4091 for additional information and/or to register.

Note: This event is subject to cancellation or postponement due to unforeseen circumstance.

LA County Department of Public Health
Office of Violence Prevention - Communications
http://ph.lacounty.gov/ovp/
ovp@ph.lacounty.gov
626.293.2610