HAVI to Host Hundreds in Chicago at Nation’s Largest Conference on Community Violence Intervention
September 22, 2023—From September 26-28, the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (the HAVI)—an organization that fosters a nationwide network of hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs)—will host hundreds working to end community violence for its 14th annual conference, which will take place in Chicago, a city that has long faced devastating rates of gun violence.
The theme of this year’s conference, Building a Sustainable Future, will focus on the future of community violence intervention (CVI), a field that has seen unprecedented public investment and a dramatic increase in attention over the past several years, due in part to the spikes in gun violence that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to devastate cities across the country. This violence disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities that have also faced historic disinvestment and decades of structural racism.
“For more than 30 years, we have worked tirelessly to sustain our efforts to prevent violence and heal the communities disproportionately impacted by it,” said Fatimah Loren Dreier, Executive Director of the HAVI. “As the White House announces the establishment of the first-ever federal Office for Violence Prevention, we are reminded that we are at a pivotal moment. Nationwide, leaders in local neighborhoods, health care, government, and philanthropy are eager to learn about and adopt the public health approach to violence, including establishing HVIPs and other CVI strategies. It’s more important than ever that stakeholders work together to build a robust, fully integrated system to stop community violence. This year’s conference provides an opportunity to not only facilitate partnerships and learning, but also to catalyze community transformation.”
The 2023 HAVI conference will feature high-profile keynote speakers from across the field working to end gun violence, including:
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, whose groundbreaking efforts to address the gun violence crisis in his state have made him a national leader on the issue. In 2021, Pritzker declared gun violence a public health crisis and launched the innovative Reimagine Public Safety Initiative, a data-driven, community-based program that aims to prevent and interrupt gun violence in the state’s hardest hit communities. Also in 2021, Illinois became one of the first states in the nation to pass legislation—which Pritzker signed into law—to ensure HVIPs and other CVI services would be a reimbursable benefit through the state’s Medicaid program.
Bechara Choucair, MD, Senior Vice President and Chief Health Officer at Kaiser Permanente, which earlier this year announced a $25 million commitment to its recently established Center for Gun Violence Research and Education and selected the HAVI to help coordinate the Center’s efforts. From 2009 to 2014, Choucair served as Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), where he and his team launched Healthy Chicago, the city’s first comprehensive public health agenda. Under his leadership, CDPH became the first big-city public health agency to be awarded national accreditation.
The 2023 HAVI conference will feature thought-provoking panel discussions and workshops on public health approaches to violence, racial equity, public policies to support community violence intervention, and more. It will include trainings for violence intervention specialists; workshops on the intersection of violence, trauma and community; discussions on the professionalization of frontline violence intervention; and workshops on best practices for cities working to build comprehensive CVI ecosystems that address violence through a range of evidence-based strategies.
Founded in 2009, the HAVI is a national organization that fosters a network of HVIPs, which provide services for victims of community violence while they are recovering from their injuries. These programs address the social determinants of health for victims of firearm injury and are a critical component of a comprehensive CVI ecosystem. The HAVI serves over 85 cities in the U.S. and beyond, providing training and technical assistance and support with strategic communications, policy development, peer learning, and research. The HAVI also works to shift narratives about violence and trauma in communities of color and partners with its members to advance policy and research that address violence as a public health emergency.
Registration for the HAVI conference is free for journalists. For more details or media inquiries, please contact Andrea Maruniak, 573-424-6127.