Hospital-based anti-violence programs get $3 million in state funding

Several Philadelphia-area violence prevention efforts will benefit from nearly $3 million in newly released state funding to help hospitals address a leading cause of death and injury.

The new funding for hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIP) was announced by Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis on Wednesday at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. One of the recipients, the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program, is based at the Penn Medicine hospital in University City.

Other local awardees include Temple University Hospital in North Philadelphia and the Philadelphia-based nonprofit Urban Affairs Coalition. The coalition received funding on behalf of the Chester Community Coalition to relaunch a program that had been at the now-shuttered Crozer-Chester Medical Center.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center also received funding. The amounts awarded to each program were not announced.

The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which Davis chairs, received 15 applications in total seeking nearly $12 million in funding — four times what was available.

“Addressing the epidemic of gun violence is a top priority for our administration,” Davis said.

The programs aim to connect patients at risk of repeat violence with resources while they are in a hospital, so they leave with a safety plan. Services can include long-term community-based case management, mentoring, and home visits.

Since the first HVIP was established in the mid-1990s, dozens have spread around the country and abroad, including in Philadelphia.

Several local institutions have these programs, including Temple Health, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Penn Medicine, Jefferson Health, and Drexel University. The City of Philadelphia, in conjunction with the area’s Level 1 trauma centers, launched an HVIP Collaborative in 2021.

Studies have shown these programs reduce rates of repeat violent injuries and recidivism among participants.

After shootings spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence is now declining in Philadelphia. As of July, shootings for the year were at their lowest total since at least 2015.

Davis noted that Philadelphia has seen a 15% decrease in homicides this year, with roughly four in five gunshot victims surviving their injuries.

The new funding will allow the Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program to increase its community presence and mental health programming, said its director, trauma surgeon Elinore Kaufman.

Through her experience treating victims of violence, she has learned that injuries can be deeper than the physical wounds.

The program was launched to address social factors often involved in violence by providing psychosocial support and connecting patients with services to help with education, job training, and housing.

“We’ve worked with patients long enough now that we have high school graduation photos, we have baby pictures,” Kaufman said. “We have patients who want to give back and have joined our patient advisory board to help push us forward.”