Amid Spiking Gun Violence, HAVI Convenes Nation’s Largest Gathering of Violence Intervention Advocates

Virtual Conference Signals Watershed Moment for Communities Plagued by Continued Gun and Community Violence

Sept 21, 2021— Amid record spikes in gun violence across the nation, health leaders, policy advocates, frontline community workers and researchers will join the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (the HAVI) for its annual conference—the largest of its kind—to educate and strategize on how best to expand the adoption of these proven strategies and map out steps for accessing a potential $5 billion in federal dollars, currently tied up in budgetary battles in Congress.

“There is a way forward, a way that unites everyone in the struggle to end violence, and it starts with valuing the contributions of those who work on the frontlines to heal victims of violence and their communities. By honoring the heroes whose work is shifting the narrative around violence to a public health discussion, we acknowledge there can be no solution without community because, in fact, community is the solution,” said Fatimah Loren Dreier, Executive Director of the HAVI. “This conference is a space to organize and share technical skills and resources for the expansion of the vital networks necessary to foster innovation within the community violence intervention ecosystem.

From September 21-23, the HAVI will bring together hundreds of violence intervention advocates under the banner: Forging a New Era of Equity. The virtual conference brings together hundreds to honor frontline violence intervention workers, health professionals, and community leaders dedicated to racial and health equity and while aiding survivors of violence and supporting their path towards healing and transformation.

The conference keynote speakers include Chiraag Bains, Special Assistant to the President for Criminal Justice & Guns Policy, who serves on President Biden's Domestic Policy Council. On Tuesday, September 21, Mr. Bains will be an opening plenary speaker on racial equity, violence prevention, and President Biden's historic commitment to invest $5 billion for community violence intervention.

The keynote on Wednesday, September 22, will feature a powerful discussion between Ibram X. Kendi, a New York Times #1 bestselling author and winner of the National Book Award, and the HAVI’s Executive Director, Fatimah Loren Dreier, on Wednesday, September 22.

On Thursday, September 23, the keynote speaker will be James A. Mercy, PhD, Director of the Division of Violence Prevention in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC—one of the agencies that will be responsible for $2.5 billion in new funding for community violence intervention if Congress passes the Build Back Better Act. Mr. Mercy will speak at the HAVI conference about CDC’s vision for racial equity and opportunities to build deeper partnerships with hospital-based violence intervention programs. A panel discussion will follow.

The largest national conference of its kind, the event will offer thought-provoking panel discussions and workshops on public health approaches to violence, racial equity, funding for hospital-based violence intervention programs and other violence intervention strategies, trauma recovery, public policy to address community violence, and more. There will also be peer learning opportunities, one-on-one networking sessions, virtual social gatherings, a live-streamed DJ set, and social media giveaways.

Over the past year, advocates have seen a historic increase in attention to the need for evidence-based violence prevention strategies. This has opened the door to critically needed funding opportunities, such as the use of Medicaid to reimburse the services provided by violence intervention programs as well as commitments to use American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to expand these programs. Advocates are also optimistic that the Biden Administration’s $5 billion investment for violence intervention, which is currently tied up in the Congressional budget reconciliation process, will be freed up to empower cities, hospitals and communities with crucial resources in their ongoing battle to end the bloodshed and gun violence that has stricken many parts of the nation.

“It is critically important that this money be available for cities facing devastating levels of gun violence and murders. These resources would empower our frontline heroes, expand their reach, and most importantly, provide hope to communities that feel powerless and abandoned,” said Kyle Fischer, Director of Policy for the HAVI and a full-time emergency room physician.

The HAVI is one of four groups identified by the Biden Administration to provide technical support to its 16-city Community Violence Intervention Collaborative.

Other panels include training for violence intervention specialists, workshops on the intersection of violence, trauma and community, discussions on women on the frontline and best practices workshops designed to help health providers develop and improve violence prevention services and offerings.

The HAVI is a national organization working to build a network of HVIPs, which provide services for victims of violent crime while they are recovering from their injuries to reduce the likelihood that they commit gun violence or are victimized in the future. Currently, the HAVI works in over 85 cities across the country, as well as in the United Kingdom and El Salvador, to develop and implement HVIPs, which are crucial resources in addressing the gun violence crisis that is disrupting health ecosystems in communities nationwide. The organization also works with its members to advance policy and research that address violence as a public health emergency.