Communities, schools, employers, and cities can act to reduce gun violence even while waiting for laws to be passed. In addition to raising awareness of behavior that might predict self-harm or harm to others, innovative programs are addressing issues at the community level and in schools and workplaces.

How the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) Decreased City-Level Youth Crime Victimization Rates

Published in the Journal of MultiDisciplinary Evaluation, this article summarizes the results of a quasi-experimental evaluation that indicate the SSYI program had a statistically significant and positive impact on reducing the number of victims of violent crimes, aggravated assaults, and homicides reported to the police per month.

The Roots of Urban Gun Violence - PDF│Video

Read Patricia Campie's remarks at the Congressional Briefing on Violence and Violence Prevention, held by the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, in collaboration with WestEd’s Justice & Prevention Research Center, on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 in Washington, D.C.

Long Story Short: How Do We Prevent Gun Violence?

The U.S. has more guns and more homicide deaths per capita than any other nation in the world. In this video interview, Patricia Campie talks about what everyone can do to prevent gun violence.

Commentary: What Can We Do About Gun Violence While We Wait for Congress to Act?

What can be done right now to prevent firearms violence—from suicide, to rampages by those who are mentally ill, to acts of terrorism—without heavy reliance on the federal government? Patricia Campie suggests what states, cities, employers, and communities can do.

Programs Reaching Out to Youth

Safe and Successful Youth Initiative in Massachusetts (SSYI)

SSYI combines health and safety approaches toward the goal of eliminating serious violence among high-risk, urban youth.

• Community-Based Violence Prevention Study of the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative: An Intervention To Prevent Urban Gun Violence
• The Impact of the SSYI on City-Level Youth Crime Victimization Rates
• A Comparative Study Using Propensity Score Matching to Predict Incarceration Likelihoods Among SSYI and non-SSYI Youth from 2011-2013 (PDF)
• Massachusetts Safe and Successful Youth Initiative: Benefit-to-Cost Analysis of Springfield and Boston Sites (PDF)

Striving to Reduce Violence in Neighborhoods Through Community Engagement

STRYVING (Striving to Reduce Violence in Neighborhoods Through Community Engagement) will enhance the ability of local public health departments to understand issues underlying youth violence and identify local risk and protective factors.

Centers Working to Prevent Violence

National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (NCSSLE)

NCSSLE is improving conditions for learning in schools so that all students have the opportunity to realize academic success, providing training and technical assistance on issues such as bullying, violence prevention, mental health, substance abuse, discipline, and safety.

National Resource Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention

The National Resource Center provides states and local communities with resources to foster safe and healthy school and community environments and support well-being for children and youth.