BALTIMORE, MD (Wednesday, April 12, 2023) – Today, Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) Executive Director Shantay Jackson was joined by Youth Advocate Programs Inc. (YAP) Assistant Program Director Irene Conway and Roca Vice President of Maryland Kurt Palermo to highlight the roles of community moral voice and service provision in the City’s focused-deterrence strategy.
“Our Group Violence Reduction Strategy relies on a balance of positive and punitive consequences to ensure individuals most at-risk of being involved in gun violence – either as a perpetrator or victim – are able to step away from the life or face swift, certain, and legitimate accountability,” said MONSE Executive Director Shantay Jackson. “Ultimately, we want those engaged by the Group Violence Reduction strategy to hear and understand the choice they are presented with, make the decision to accept the services offered through our partners YAP and ROCA, and benefit from the positive consequences to their lives, the lives of those they love and who love them, and to our community.”
GVRS, also known as focused deterrence, is a nationally recognized approach that has the strongest formal evaluation record of any violence prevention initiative designed to reduce homicides and non-fatal shootings.
In partnership with the Baltimore Police Department and the State’s Attorney’s Office, MONSE launched the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS) in January 2022. This proven strategy aims to address the norms perpetuating violence in Baltimore by focusing resources on individuals identified as being at the highest acute risk of involvement in non-fatal shootings and homicides.
MONSE is responsible for the management and coordination of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy and brings together a wide array of partners to engage directly with those most intimately involved in and affected by violence, leveraging an intentional collaboration between, social services, community members, and law enforcement who collectively co-sign and deliver an anti-violence message to stop the shooting and offer program participants individually-tailored resources to step away from violence.
Since the beginning of 2023, the Western District has seen a 45.2 percent, year-over-year decrease in both non-fatal shootings and homicides, maintaining its rank as the least violent among other historically chronically violent districts in the city. Since expansion into the Southwestern District in January 2023, the Southwestern has seen a 15.8 percent aggregate decrease in non-fatal shootings and homicides.
As of April 12, 2023, the program has conducted 67 custom notification referrals year-to-date, where Baltimoreans identified as being at risk of perpetrating or falling victim to gun violence are contacted by MONSE staff members, law enforcement, and community members to accept services including but not limited to life coaching, housing assistance, employment, emergency relocation, and cognitive behavioral therapy across both the Western and Southwestern Districts since the start of the year. Through this work, 11 participants have been offered and accepted services via YAP and Roca.
“The YAP GVRS team sees firsthand every day the fruits of our labor and it matters to us personally because we’re supporting people from our neighborhoods who share backgrounds similar to our own. This is an investment in individuals and families in our neighborhoods that connects people who want to make a change with the tools they need to make real contributions and give back to the community,” said YAP GVRS Assistant Program Director Irene Conway. “This work takes commitment and love. We don’t look at it as transactional. It’s transformational.”
"Roca is excited to continue its partnership with the City and MONSE to serve the young people most at risk to be victims and perpetrators of gun violence," said Roca Maryland Executive Vice President Kurt Palermo. "We know that behavior change takes time and we continue to work to improve the delivery of our Cognitive Behavioral Theory in order to best identify and address trauma. We're grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside community and criminal justice partners and Mayor Scott's administration to reduce violence in Baltimore City."
In December, Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Director Jackson announced plans to expand GVRS citywide - the projected expansion timeline is as follows:
- Southwestern - Q1 of 2023
- Central - Q2 of 2023
- Eastern - Q3 of 2023
- Southern - Q4 of 2023
- Northwestern and Southeastern - Q2 of 2024
- Northern and Northeastern - Q3 of 2024
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