The
Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) is pleased to announce the award
of a grant of over $1.1 million to the Offender Alumni Association (OAA) to
start a Hospital-linked Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) in Jefferson
County, Alabama. The award is provided through the JCDH Public Health Advised
Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. This funding is for a
one-year pilot, but additional funding for HVIP continuation could be available
for subsequent years if the pilot is successful. The Jefferson County
Department of Health intends to continue providing funding for subsequent
years, subject to annual budget approvals and grant approvals. Additionally,
the City of Birmingham made a commitment of expansion funding for years 2 and 3
of the program.
OAA will be
responsible for hiring, supporting and managing Violence Intervention
Specialists who assist in the delivery of case management services, including
meeting with survivors of gun violence in the hospital setting, providing connections
to social, medical and mental health services, and monitoring survivors’
progress over time. OAA will also be responsible for hiring a full-time
Violence Intervention Supervisor and a full-time Licensed Social Worker/Social
Services Specialist to provide program management and to direct client
assessment and intervention planning. The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Hospital will be the pilot facility for the program. The UAB Division of
Trauma and Acute Care Surgery will identify and refer consenting patients who
have survived violent injury from gunshot to the HVIP while the patient is
still in the hospital. The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (The HAVI,
https://www.thehavi.org/) was brought in by JCDH to assist local
stakeholders with planning of the HVIP. The HAVI will continue to provide
training and technical assistance to OAA and its new HVIP staff as the program
is developed and implemented.
The
objectives of the HVIP are to reduce subsequent acts of violence involving the
clients, improve client health outcomes, and enhance client educational
attainment, employability and employment status. The program design includes
data collection and evaluation to determine how well these objectives are being
met.
“OAA is
honored, humbled and grateful for this opportunity to partner with JCDH, UAB
Hospital, the City of Birmingham and others to be part of the solution to
interrupt violence in our communities,” said Deborah Daniels, OAA’s Founder and
Executive Director. “OAA is ready to be there in real time as individuals are
being victimized, to be a source of comfort as well as a resource to help them
move past the pain, the hurt and the trauma of violence. OAA’s vision has
always been to ‘Reduce Crime and Restore our Communities.’ All of us - our
government officials, community stakeholders, partners and neighbors - have
lots of work to do to make our neighborhoods safer, and places where our
children to have an opportunity to thrive.”
Dr. Mark
Wilson, Jefferson County Health Officer, commented, “Numerous partners and
community stakeholders collaborated to explore various evidence-based
strategies for addressing violence as a public health crisis in Jefferson
County. The HVIP was determined to be a good fit for our community. We are glad
to get to this step in the process, and we look forward to taking the next
steps with OAA as our partner.”