What We Do

OUR APPROACH

Our program works to reduce the level of violence, particularly shootings and homicides, in Philadelphia. The Cure Violence model has three components:

1. Detect and interrupt potentially violent conflicts and help mediate them before they become a shooting or other violent incident

2. Identify and work with community members that are at the highest risk of becoming involved in gun violence

3. Organize and engage the community in violence prevention

Cure Violence Philadelphia implements this model in the streets, as well as in partner schools and hospitals.

OUR PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS

We provide mentorship and resources to youth and young adults in North Philadelphia and surrounding areas. We focus on those involved in high-risk street activity, victims or co-victims of violent crime, and individuals with a history of arrest or incarceration.

OUR CREDIBLE MESSENGERS

Our outreach workers are community members with similar backgrounds and life experiences as their participants, making them credible messengers with a unique ability to reach at-risk youth and young adults. They have strong ties to the community in which they work and are trained to deliver a clear and consistent anti-violence message to the community and their Cure Violence participants.

They spend their time meeting participants in their community, schools, or hospitals to provide guidance and work towards positive goals. Outreach workers are trained in conflict mediation techniques, serve as mentors and resource/case managers to Cure Violence participants, and organize the community in becoming involved in violence prevention.

School-Based Program

Cure Violence works in several Mastery Charter Schools, including Gratz High School, Gratz Prep , Pickett, Hardy-Williams, Wayne Academy, and others, to mentor and support students at high risk for violence. Our school team outreach workers are full-time staff who work in tandem with the street-based team to prevent violence in and around Mastery campuses and in the community. School outreach workers provide mentorship, engage caretakers and families by conducting home visits, and make referrals to community agencies and services that may provide them with assistance. The school team is responsible for mediating emerging conflicts, diffusing and discussing incidents with school staff, and working with the street team to engage families and community members in violence prevention work.

Street-Based Program

Our street team currently canvasses in the 22nd district of Philly and the immediate area around Einstein Medical Center. Each street team outreach worker works with participants regularly to guide them away from the streets and violence, and provide help obtaining employment, navigating the court system, finding opportunities for work trainings and certifications, etc. The street team responds to the sites of local shootings to support neighbors, mediate conflicts, and prevent retaliation. They maintain a presence in the communities they serve through daily canvassing activities and contact with participants. The street team hosts community events and builds relationships with local businesses, houses of faith, community leaders, and community organizations.

Hospital-Based Program

Cure Violence hospital-team outreach workers connect immediately with patients who are being treated for violent injuries in the level 1 trauma center at Einstein Medical Center. They are notified through a 24-hour hotline, direct contact with Einstein staff, and their own social networks. Our hospital team works with victims of violence and their loved ones by providing mentorships, comfort, and case management both during and after their stay in the hospital. The hospital team works to mediate conflict by eliminating thoughts of retaliation by the victim and those close to them, and de-escalate conflict in and around the hospital and the surrounding neighborhoods. Our resource specialist walks each participant through victim compensation claims, in addition to warm handoffs to other services such as, rehabilitation, follow-up care, and relocation assistance.

Resource Specialist

Services and benefits can be complicated, so our trauma-informed Resource Specialist works closely with our community members to navigate the systems. They guide participants through the process of obtaining social services and basic needs, such as housing, identification and driver’s licenses, health benefits, etc. They also act as a victim advocate, providing support, resources, and expertise to victims and co-victims of gun violence.

Training and Technical Assistance Partnerships

The Center for Urban Bioethics’ Cure Violence Philadelphia program is nationally recognized as an expert in the field as many team members have been working with Cure Violence for 10+ years. We work with partners throughout the Philadelphia region who have similar missions and are committed to addressing the violence epidemic. We consult with our partner organizations to provide sustained training and technical assistance to support the creation and implementation of a violence prevention model that is evidence-based, trauma-sensitive, and culturally aware. This includes: violence interruption and mediation training for outreach workers; implementation, recruitment, and supervision training for management; assistance with recruitment and community-based hiring panels; one-on-one mentorship of staff; regular, monthly, or weekly technical assistance and guidance calls. To ensure fidelity to the model as it is currently working in Philadelphia, Cure Violence also provides data collection and evaluation support.

Our Current Partners
New Kensington CDC
Mt. Vernon CDC
University of Pennsylvania Community Violence Prevention Program