Local governments and community organizations are increasingly focusing on community violence intervention and prevention (CVIPI) approaches. CVIPI work brings together a wide range of community partners, from government agencies to nonprofits and residents, to identify their roles in violence reduction, coordinate among each other and form a comprehensive and holistic approach that comprises elements of both intervention and prevention. These programs are complex undertakings, relying on authentic community input, led by staff with very specific skills and backgrounds, dependent on comprehensive and complementary partnerships, and demanding high-quality, engaged, and flexible TTA.
LISC is using funds from the Bureau of Justice Assistance FY 2022 Office of Justice Programs Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative to provide grant funding, training and technical assistance to local communities that need to strengthen their ability to deploy CVIPI approaches. Our assistance will help them:
- partner effectively
- engage community members and stakeholders
- use data to inform strategy selection, and
- implement sustainable strategies integrated into comprehensive community revitalization efforts.
Our work includes selecting local grantees through a competitive process and working with each grantee site to assess their strengths and needs, tailor assistance to meet the needs, measure progress, and plan for sustainability. We are also creating and maintaining a library of resources to help grantees as well as the larger community safety field understand how to implement CVIPI effectively.
The DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance is supporting data-driven, comprehensive responses to crime in some of the country’s most troubled communities through BCJI.