How do we support communities with high levels of violence?
Lead Agency
Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE)
Interim Director:
Kwelli Sneed
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Fiscal Year(s) Funded
FY18 - present
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Status
Ongoing
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Contact
Shakitha Leavy
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For More Info
Program Summary
Launched in 2018, the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement’s (ONSE) Violence Intervention is a community engagement strategy supporting residents in reducing gun-related violence in our communities. This includes:
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Addressing potential conflicts
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Assisting communities following a violent conflict
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Supporting individuals at high risk of being directly involved in violence, whether as a victim or perpetrator
This work comes from a public health perspective and focuses on all persons affected by violent acts, including victims, perpetrators, and their support systems/network.
How does it help?
ONSE’s violence intervention efforts are specifically designed to address gun violence stemming from group, crew, and neighborhood conflicts because of the cycle of retaliatory violence. Through their work, violence interrupters touch the lives of individuals, families, and communities most affected by violence, working behind the scenes to get people out of the cycles of violence.
Violence interrupters use informal counseling and trauma-informed care and restorative justice in their work. ONSE violence interrupters are supported by a team of case managers and community navigators.
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How much is invested?
In FY23, the Violence Intervention program has nearly $17 million invested in prevention and intervention programming across the District.
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Who uses this program?
ONSE contracts with three community-based organizations — Life Deeds, the Ward 5 Violence Prevention Network, Together We Rise, J&J Monitoring, and the Inner City Collaborative Community Development Corporation — to serve the following 25 priority communities.
In 2022, ONSE also created a floating team of violence interrupters, who are responsible for responding to critical incidents and assisting with peace negotiations inside and outside of ONSE priority communities.
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Data
Learn more about how ONSE measures impact of the Violence Intervention initiative here.