Grant Awarded for a Hospital-linked Violence Intervention Program

Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) is pleased to announce the award of a grant of over $1.1 million to the Offender Alumni Association (OAA) to start a Hospital-linked Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) in Jefferson County, Alabama.

The award is provided through the JCDH Public Health Advised Fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham. This funding is for a one-year pilot, but additional funding for HVIP continuation could be available for subsequent years if the pilot is successful. The Jefferson County Department of Health intends to continue providing funding for subsequent years, subject to annual budget approvals and grant approvals. Additionally, the City of Birmingham made a commitment of expansion funding for years 2 and 3 of the program.

OAA will be responsible for hiring, supporting and managing Violence Intervention Specialists who assist in the delivery of case management services, including meeting with survivors of gun violence in the hospital setting, providing connections to social, medical and mental health services, and monitoring survivors’ progress over time. OAA will also be responsible for hiring a full-time Violence Intervention Supervisor and a full-time Licensed Social Worker/Social Services Specialist to provide program management and to direct client assessment and intervention planning. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital will be the pilot facility for the program.  The UAB Division of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery will identify and refer consenting patients who have survived violent injury from gunshot to the HVIP while the patient is still in the hospital. The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (The HAVI, https://www.thehavi.org/) was brought in by JCDH to assist local stakeholders with planning of the HVIP. The HAVI will continue to provide training and technical assistance to OAA and its new HVIP staff as the program is developed and implemented. 

The objectives of the HVIP are to reduce subsequent acts of violence involving the clients, improve client health outcomes, and enhance client educational attainment, employability and employment status. The program design includes data collection and evaluation to determine how well these objectives are being met.