The HAVI Applauds the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention for Urging Health Sector Leaders to Take Action to Reduce Gun Violence  

June 7, 2024 — The White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention yesterday convened health sector executives for a special summit focused on advancing a public health approach to addressing gun violence. At the summit, leaders were urged to gather data on gunshot injuries, invest in community violence intervention (CVI) strategies such as hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs), and integrate interventions such as counseling on firearm safety into clinical practice. The important discussion continues today — National Gun Violence Awareness Day — with a Doctors for America convening at the White House. In response to these events, the HAVI issued the following statement from Executive Director Fatimah Loren Dreier, who spoke at the June 6 summit:

“The HAVI applauds the White House Office of Violence Prevention for bringing together health systems executives this week to discuss the pivotal role of the healthcare sector in addressing this public health crisis. It is critical for health systems to invest in strategies such as hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs), which are part of a broader community violence intervention (CVI) ecosystem comprised of multiple strategies that work in concert to reduce violence. This approach focuses on providing trauma-informed care and equitable access to social and economic opportunities for those at highest risk of exposure to gun violence — often members of historically disinvested Black and Brown communities experiencing systemic barriers to safety and wellbeing.” 

“Improving health system and health department data collection on firearm injuries is also an important part of treating gun violence as a public health issue. In the same way that data is key to reducing the impact of diabetes and heart disease on populations most at risk, it is key to our ability to support those at highest risk of exposure to gun violence. In addition, data collection is necessary for the advancement of research on preventative and clinical interventions that reduce the incidence and effects of gun violence. The HAVI has long called for increased funding to support a more developed research infrastructure to better understand and address this crisis. We must also center the wisdom of the most impacted communities in the way that research is conducted and funded, because we know that the people most impacted by gun violence have the insight and expertise needed to identify and scale solutions that work.” 

“We thank the Biden-Harris Administration and the Office of Gun Violence Prevention for their significant, ongoing leadership and partnership in this endeavor, and we call on leaders from across health systems, government agencies, and community-based organizations to work together to implement multi-pronged, health-focused approaches that create safer, healthier communities.”