Expansion and Enhancement of a Community-focused Violence Intervention and Prevention Program

Greensboro (NC) Police Department (GPD) will expand a program by its Office of Community Engagement (OCE) currently in one high-crime neighborhood into another high-crime neighborhood; enhance the program by adding an intensive focus on individuals at highest risk for violence; and improve relations between residents and law enforcement. The project will use a planning phase to further develop initial plans and use ongoing performance measurement by local research partners (grant subrecipients the University of North Carolina – Greensboro and NC Agricultural and Technical State University) to monitor implementation and make improvements as needed.

High-risk individuals will be identified in collaboration with the local Project Safe Neighborhoods program and other partner organizations, e.g., hospitals. Credible messengers will engage with high-risk individuals to disrupt cycles of violence and connect these individuals with partner organization services including trauma counseling, conflict mediation, case management, financial assistance, education, housing and relocation assistance, peer support, and job training. They will follow up as needed to encourage service uptake and participation.

Primary activities for proposed neighborhood-level programming will resemble current programming, tailored to the new neighborhood based on resident input. Activities will continue to be driven by OCE’s Community Connectors program, which is led by a resident contracted by OCE and has an extensive network of multidisciplinary volunteers (including residents) and partner organizations. The program will address systemic issues including food and housing insecurity, unemployment, financial literacy, and access to transportation, education, health care and youth opportunities. The elementary school will be a community hub with activities to meet basic family needs, build a PTA-like organization bolstered by non-parent residents, and guide teachers in engaging parents. Mobile health services and food markets will bring services directly to the community.

The project is expected to (1) improve proximal outcomes including health and well-being; trauma and behavioral health recovery; employment, housing, and food security; and resident engagement; (2) reduce violence perpetration and victimization, recidivism, and trauma; (3) reduce racial disparities and increase racial equity; and (4) improve community - law enforcement relations. Intended beneficiaries are, directly, program neighborhood residents and high -risk individuals and, indirectly, the Greensboro community at large.

GPD seeks priority consideration under four priority areas, as supported on the following narrative pages: Priority 1, promoting racial equity (p. 2); Priority 2, high and increasing homicide rates (p. 1); Priority 3, multidisciplinary team (attachment); and Priority 4, participating in an NIJ-funded evaluation (by RTI International; p. 12).