County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has announced the county will be committing $50 million over the next five years on a comprehensive and well-coordinated public health approach to community violence reduction.

“We are extremely fortunate in this region to have so many different organizations and entities that engage and are active when there is a need, and addressing violence in our community is certainly no exception,” said Mr. Fitzgerald. “With this financial commitment, we are approaching this issue broadly while also coordinating efforts to ensure that our approach is a comprehensive one. Just as importantly, this effort is intended to be coordinated at the county level but implemented locally. The organizations receiving funding, and the people who do the work, are best suited to determine how to make an impact in their community.”

The funding will be used for contracts resulting from two Requests for Proposals (RFPs) issued last year by the Department of Human Services, with input from the Health Department’s Office of Violence Prevention, that sought evidence-based approaches to be implemented in highly impacted communities in Allegheny County.

The RFP for Countywide Support for Violence Prevention sought partners to assist the broader strategy, including identifying a countywide convener to bring together and coordinate efforts among all relevant stakeholders. It also funds countywide prevention efforts that can be centrally, rather than locally, operated. Contracts awarded for this RFP include:

  • Neighborhood Resilience Project for countywide coordination
  • Social Contract for operation of shooting review boards in which relevant stakeholders come together on a recurring basis to determine why a given shooting (fatal or non-fatal) occurred, identify trends, and use the data to inform prevention and intervention
  • Reimagine Reentry for hospital-based intervention in which trauma responders and outreach workers visit the bedsides of gunshot victims to connect at-risk young men to services and interrupt cycles of retaliation
  • Center for Victims and Community Empowerment Association for coordination of victim and family supports, connecting victims and their loved ones to mental health services and survivor support groups
  • Capacity building and implementation of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), which uses blight reduction, strategic lighting, and vacant lot remediation to reduce the opportunity for violent crime

The RFP for Community Violence Reduction Plans from High-Priority Areas sought strategies aimed at reducing community violence in highly impacted municipalities outside the City of Pittsburgh. It asked stakeholders to create a local violence reduction plan and select a coordinating agency—referred to as the “community quarterback”—to oversee the initiative.

The county will fund both existing projects and new efforts, including:

  • Cure Violence, which treats violence as a disease and uses interrupters, outreach workers, and norm-change strategies to reduce gun violence among those ages 15–34
  • Becoming A Man (BAM), a school-based program employing licensed counselors who work with at-risk young men in grades 6–12 five days a week using cognitive behavioral therapy, peer support, and future planning
  • Rapid Employment and Development Initiative (READI), a paid transitional jobs program that aims to prevent violence by engaging those at the highest risk

The following organizations will serve as community quarterbacks for their respective municipalities:

  • Focus on Renewal (Stowe, McKees Rocks)
  • Penn Hills School District
  • South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace (South Hilltop, Mount Oliver)
  • Greater Valley Community Services (Woodland Hills School District: Braddock, East Pittsburgh, North Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Turtle Creek)
  • Steel Rivers Council of Governments (Mon Valley: Clairton, Duquesne, Homestead, McKeesport)
  • Community Forge (Greater Wilkinsburg Area)

Given the need within the City of Pittsburgh, the city is directly funding its own violence prevention initiatives under its Plan for Peace. The county stands ready to assist.