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For Immediate Release
Friday, September 16, 2022 |
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Mayor Scott Announces Next Steps in Cultivation of Baltimore’s CVI Ecosystem
BALTIMORE, MD (Friday, September 16, 2022) – Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the next steps in cultivating Baltimore’s first-ever Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Ecosystem. This includes a new operation model for Safe Streets, Baltimore’s flagship violence intervention program, and the addition of hospital violence intervention programming.
“Approaching violence reduction through a lens of public health means implementing a strategy that simultaneously unearths the root causes of violence and utilizes violence intervention programming like Safe Streets, hospital-based responder programs, and community-based organizations to make Baltimore a safer place for all of our residents,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “I am proud of our continued investment in public safety practices rooted in equity, healing, public health, and trauma-informed practices. I deeply appreciate the community, hospital, and school-based partnerships that are helping us build safer neighborhoods today and achieve sustainable reductions in violence over time.”
As committed in Scott’s Comprehensive Violence Prevention Plan (CVPP), over the last year MONSE has worked to expand the CVI ecosystem through the establishment of hospital- and school-based violence intervention programming. This year, MONSE has been negotiating with area hospital systems to stand up and coordinate hospital-based violence intervention programs in the hospitals that see the most trauma patients. The public safety agency has also worked with the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI) to provide training in 4Q2022 for all Baltimore-area hospital systems that regularly treat gunshot victims and to develop a connected ecosystem rooted in public health.
Today, Scott also announced a new operation model for Safe Streets, Baltimore’s flagship violence intervention program. Administration of the program’s 10 sites will transition to LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope and Catholic Charities between October 1, 2022, and January 1, 2023.
LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope and Catholic Charities collectively offer services that make up almost every component of the CVI ecosystem, including victim services, hospital-based violence intervention programming, community outreach, life coaching, and mediation and violence intervention. These expanded partnerships will utilize the capacity that already exists and help to develop Baltimore’s CVI ecosystem more efficiently.
MONSE plans to continue to work with many of the community-based partners who have played a fundamental role in Safe Streets to date, including Living Classrooms Foundation, Youth Advocate Programs (YAP), and Bon Secours Community Works on workforce development and re-entry initiatives and programming. Members of the public can expect more on these in the coming months.
“Though they will look different moving forward, the invaluable partnerships with our previous Safe Streets site administrators are still as essential as ever,” said Director Shantay Jackson of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement. “We look forward to working with former site administrators in new ways as we continue to foster this CVI ecosystem.”
Currently, LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope operates the Belvedere and Woodbourne-McCabe sites, and Associated Catholic Charities operates the Sandtown-Winchester and Brooklyn sites. In October 2022, LifeBridge Health Center for Hope will become the operator of the Belair-Edison and McElderry Park sites. In January 2023, LifeBridge Health Center for Hope will also assume operation of the Franklin Square and Park Heights sites, while Associated Catholic Charities will assume operation of the Penn North and Cherry Hill sites. As MONSE works to integrate other components of the CVI ecosystem, the agency will continue to provide technical assistance, training, and oversight to Safe Streets while cultivating the integration of all components of the CVI ecosystem.
“LifeBridge Health and Catholic Charities have been tremendous partners in our commitments to our frontline violence interrupters and the Safe Streets program as a whole,” continued Jackson. “Providing stronger oversight and accountability of Safe Streets and securing greater support, safety, training, and career pathway development for the workforce is amongst our top priorities. We know that these community and hospital-based organizations will be indispensable as we continue to work toward a better Baltimore.”
Safe Streets Baltimore site providers are responsible for the overall administration, human resource management, and employee services for Safe Streets staff, along with data reporting, data collection, management, and review. The site administrators implement the Safe Streets program in the assigned catchment area and hire staff, working in partnership with MONSE and community partners. In addition, site administrators are responsible for participating in community activities and public education efforts, assisting with coalition building, leading and participating in other community engagement activities, and working with the program evaluators.
“LifeBridge Health recognizes that, as a health system, we can lead the way by making an unprecedented investment in community safety through the support of our Center for Hope programming. The Safe Streets program is an important step in helping us accomplish this goal,” said Daniel Blum, President of Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and Grace Medical Center, and Senior Vice President of LifeBridge Health. “At LifeBridge Health, we do not shrink away from the challenges facing our community, and I am thrilled that the City has the faith and trust in our organization to add four more Safe Streets sites to our portfolio under our LifeBridge Health Center for Hope.”
“Being a trusted community partner in Baltimore for the past 100 years, Catholic Charities looks forward to expanding our role in helping to curb violence in our city and heal from the traumas it causes,” said Catholic Charities Executive Director Bill McCarthy. “We look forward to assuming operations for the Penn North and Cherry Hill Safe Streets sites and working with the staffers and community members. Catholic Charities believes in helping to heal the whole person in their journey of recovery from mental, physical, and emotional traumas caused by gun violence. We are prepared to extend our services of trauma-informed behavioral health counseling, addiction services, peer recovery, and much more as we continue our efforts to improve the lives of Baltimore residents.”
Additionally, MONSE is seeking Baltimoreans to serve on the Community Violence Intervention Advisory Board to help guide and inform the cultivation of the CVI ecosystem as a whole. Members of the public can apply through Friday, October 7, 2022.
Last year, MONSE conducted an in-depth review of Baltimore’s ten current Safe Streets at Mayor Scott’s direction. This evaluation focused on operational and cultural norms across the sites and was completed in the second half of 2021. An updated academic evaluation of Safe Streets conducted by Dr. Daniel Webster is currently underway and is expected to be completed and shared publicly in 4Q2022.
Safe Streets Baltimore is an evidence-based, public health program to reduce gun violence. The program is modeled after the Chicago-based Cure Violence program, which employs outreach professionals to mediate brewing conflicts that could result in gun violence. Safe Streets workers focus on community outreach, public education, conflict mediation, and violence interruption within a specific geographic area.
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