Hospital-based violence intervention program has achieved significant success with 98% of participants remaining alive, avoiding arrest and avoiding re-injury.

WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, June 29, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- John Muir Health has been awarded a nearly $1.8 million grant over the next three years from the State of California to support the health system’s Beyond Violence program and expansion of mental health services in the community it serves. This grant is part of California’s Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) Grant Program, which provides grants to programs in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, particularly group-member involved homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults.

“The funding comes at a critical time and allows us to expand our Beyond Violence program and partnerships with community organizations,” said Jamie Elmasu, director of John Muir Health’s Community Health Improvement department. “We will continue to empower those affected by violence, and aid in the healing of individuals and communities through emotional support and safety net resources.”

John Muir Health’s Beyond Violence program, managed as a partnership between its Community Health Improvement, Trauma Services and Social Services departments, is a hospital-based violence intervention program developed in 2010 to interrupt the cycle of violence in local communities. As Contra Costa County’s only trauma center, John Muir Health sees a high percentage of the victims of violent crime and repeat patients who are stuck in cyclical violence.

The program currently serves people between the ages of 15-25 who have experienced intentional injury by gun violence, stabbings, or assault. Since its inception, the program has achieved significant success with 98% of people participating remaining alive, avoiding arrest and avoiding re-injury after initially being hospitalized at John Muir Health as a trauma patient. With this additional funding, the Beyond Violence program can remove the upper age limit of people eligible to participate and expand the reach of support programs in the cities of Richmond and Antioch via a new partnership with Contra Costa Family Justice Center in Antioch and Richmond. This funding will also allow for the expansion of mental health services to Beyond Violence program participants, as well as students in the Antioch Unified School District.

Beyond Violence employs a unique model of collaboration with nonprofit organizations to reach various geographies throughout Contra Costa County, including RYSE Center serving West Contra Costa County, One Day at a Time serving East Contra Costa County, Center for Human Development serving Central Contra Costa County, Fred Finch Youth and Family Services, which provides mental health support, and now, Contra Costa Family Justice Center.

“Contra Costa Family Justice Center is delighted to join the Beyond Violence collaborative to support violence prevention and intervention efforts for our communities in Antioch and Richmond,” says Susun Kim, Executive Director of Contra Costa Family Justice Center. “We are here to offer space and resources for healing and to promote safety.”

California’s Break the Cycle of Violence act specifies that CalVIP grants shall be used to support, expand and replicate evidence-based violence reduction initiatives, including but not limited to:

• Hospital-based violence intervention programs,
• Evidence-based street outreach programs, and
• Focused deterrence strategies.

The CalVIP grant marks the largest government grant ever received by the John Muir Health Foundation to support programs at John Muir Health.

Visit John Muir Health's website for more information on the Beyond Violence program.

Ben Drew
John Muir Health
+1 925-947-5387
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