The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention, in partnership with the California Community Foundation, has awarded 56 grants totaling $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to community-based organizations across Los Angeles County dedicated to violence prevention.

The federal funds were distributed to agencies as part of the Trauma Prevention Partnerships in seven categories: Hospital Violence Intervention, Street Outreach, Peer-to-Peer Learning Academy, Youth Programs, Trauma Informed Care, Crisis Response, and School Safety Transformation.

In addition to their awards, several organizations also received $30,000 each from a Community Hardship Fund, which will allow recipients to address immediate client needs, including rent, food, utilities, or school supplies; support to grieving families; and support for self-care activities for peer workers.

Awardees are listed here.

The Office of Violence Prevention received $25 million in ARPA funds as part of the County’s COVID-19 recovery plan to support violence prevention, intervention and healing services and programs. As the fiscal lead agency for this public-private partnership, CCF managed the contract solicitation and disbursement of the funds and works closely with OVP to provide programmatic support and capacity building for the funded organizations.

These supports include program evaluation in partnership with Loyola Marymount University’s Psychology Applied Research Center, and community engagement services provided by Social Good Solutions.

Awardees included grassroots and community-based organizations that will implement innovative programs to promote peace and healing. The funds are intended to prevent violent incidents; implement crisis response when violent incidents occur; address factors contributing to gun and gang violence; increase access to trauma-informed care and healing-centered services and supports; and invest in upstream youth programs, youth engagement, and youth leadership opportunities across Los Angeles County.

The ARPA investments represent an expansion of the Office of Violence Prevention’s existing initiatives, including crisis response, trauma-informed care, and the Trauma Prevention Initiative, which is currently implementing hospital intervention programs and street outreach strategies in nine communities across the County that experience disproportionate rates of violence.

“This grant opens up so many opportunities for organizations to do innovative work that is outside the box of what grants traditionally expect and demand,” said Dr. Angela Parker, Director of Education and Training, Jenesse Center, one of the grantees. “By trusting that community organizations know how best to use the resources they have been given, the Trauma Prevention Partnership funding allows us to create culturally sensitive programming that sustains the work we are currently doing, while expanding the scope of that work, and the populations we can reach.”

“As Los Angeles County communities grapple with gun violence and its effects, our hope is that these investments will provide individuals and families with the resources they need to heal, thrive, and reach their full potential,” said Andrea Welsing, Director of the Office of Violence Prevention. “ARPA funding is directed towards communities in Los Angeles County with the highest rates of ongoing violence and violence exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. We are grateful to the Biden administration for including violence prevention and intervention as a key component of COVID-19 recovery and to the Board of Supervisors for allocating these funds to the Office of Violence Prevention.”

“California Community Foundation’s Trauma Prevention Partnerships is excited to partner with the Office of Violence Prevention and a total of 56 community-based programs to address violence from a holistic approach,” said Dr. Adrienne Hillman, California Community Foundation Trauma Prevention Partnerships Program Officer. “We are looking forward to helping individuals receive needed resources to assist with their healing. Our hope is that this funding will have a profound impact on the countless lives that our grantees are able to touch through their work.”

“Trauma Prevention Partnerships is a first-of-its-kind violence prevention initiative not just in California but in the nation,” said Cheryl Grills, Loyola Marymount University, Principal Investigator, Trauma Prevention Partnerships Evaluation and Learning Partner. “Trauma Prevention Partnerships is moving from a more siloed approach to community violence prevention to a holistic approach through the inclusion of violence prevention strategies with promising evidence such as Trauma Informed Care, Crisis Response, and Youth Programs. Historically, Hospital Based Violence Intervention, Street Outreach, and School Based Violence Prevention have generated strong evidence of effectiveness either uniquely or in concert with one another” (Evans et al., 2021; Department of Health and Human Services, 2007).

“Trauma Prevention Partnerships is providing a more robust and nuanced set of strategies with investments in under-resourced and disenfranchised communities of color with an equity framework to combat the consequences of historical oppression, racism, and discrimination,” added Grills. “The evaluation of Trauma Prevention Partnerships strategies will shed light on the ways in which multiple strategies implemented concurrently can contribute to reductions in community violence in LA County. California Community Foundation and Office of Violence Prevention’s commitment to funding community-based organizations closest to the issue and who know what is best for their communities is critical. In other words, those most impacted now have a seat at the table leading efforts that directly impact their quality of life.”

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