Violence Prevention

Violence is a Public Health Issue

Violence is a widespread, complicated public health issue. It has a deep impact on health, opportunity, and well-being throughout life.

A Public Health Approach to Violence

A public health approach looks at factors that affect the risk of violence to learn how to prevent it. This means we look at inequities, the underlying drivers of violence, and protective factors that can reduce the risk of violence. 

We use data and the Roadmap to Reducing Violence to guide our work. 

• We use both internal and external data to steer us. 
• The Roadmap outlines goals such as understanding violence through data, supporting community engagement, fostering strong neighborhoods, increasing intervention and healing for those affected by violence, and strengthening community capacity in violence prevention efforts.

How We Prevent Violence from Happening

We coordinate efforts through the Madison Dane County Violence Prevention Coalition.

• This Coalition is a collaboration of community and government partners. We work to put the goals of the Roadmap to Reducing Violence into place. We meet quarterly  to engage in learning opportunities, network, share successes and challenges, and identify opportunities for collaboration.
• For more information about the Coalition and how to attend, please email ViolencePrevention@publichealthmdc.com. 

We engage with stakeholders throughout the community at the neighborhood level to promote safety and build resiliency.

• Using police data and information from community stakeholders, we identify areas that need additional support and place violence intervention specialists there. Our Violence Intervention team engages with property management, Neighborhood Resource Team members, community centers, etc. to find ways to intervene before there is violence.
• We connect with communities impacted by violence to reduce trauma, improve social cohesion, and build community leadership and engagement.
• We facilitate discussions to improve environmental factors that reduce the risk of violence and promote safety and well-being.
• For more information or to engage with the Violence Intervention Team please contact ViolencePrevention@publichealthmdc.com. 

We fund local groups that work to stop violence before it starts.

Since 2022, we have funded our Violence Prevention Grant Program, which gives money to community agencies to support prevention programs. Each grant cycle, we fund priorities informed by community input and expertise. 

Examples of previously funded programs include: 

• A Black girls and women empower group that hosted bi-weekly, community-based sessions to foster an environment that shifts mindsets, heals trauma, enhances self-esteem and identity, and strengthens community and family.
• A program focused on affordable housing for single women, with a focus on personalized and culturally relevant services. A philosophy of “empowerment" underpinned these services.
• A community-focused, art-based learning program for at-risk and court-involved teens, which was developed to address racial discrepancies in juvenile detention.
• The purchase of panic buttons for people who are at-risk of being victims of violent crimes because suspects who have committed violent offenses having not been apprehended. 

We promote safe firearm storage.

• Read our gun safety position statement, which supports strategies to reduce the ease of access to firearms by people who seek to do harm, increase gun safety, support safe storage, and decrease the harm and destructiveness of firearms. 
• Watch and share our public service announcement. All kids deserve to be safe. As parents, it's our responsibility to practice safe gun ownership. That means securing a firearm in a safe place: unloaded, locked up, and inaccessible to children. Visit BeSmart for more safe gun ownership resources.