Title
Authorizing the Office of Neighborhood Safety to expend up to $25,000.00 on wraparound supports for individuals and families in crisis and in need of emergency assistance.
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul created the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) pursuant to City Ordinance 22-9; and
WHEREAS, the ONS is charged with establishing, coordinating, and advancing violence prevention, interruption, and reconciliation strategies in order to increase safety and overall well-being for residents, and maintaining a sustainable structure for community-first public safety efforts; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul has recently suffered an increase in gun violence among a small group of residents; and
WHEREAS, according to research by the Giffords Law Center, involvement with gun violence including being shot, shot at, or witnessing a shooting, roughly doubles the probability that a person will commit a violent act within two years; and
WHEREAS, in order to reduce this gun violence, the ONS has launched Project Peace in partnership with the Saint Paul Police Department-ASPIRE (A Saint Paul Intervention and Recovery Effort) Team, Healing Streets, Ramsey County Corrections, and Ramsey County Public Health; and
WHEREAS, Project Peace is a methodical, individualized gun violence intervention that connects people at imminent risk of being the victim or perpetrator of violence with intensive case management, life coaching, emergency housing, relocation assistance, transitional employment programming, and other wraparound supports; and
WHEREAS, Project Peace is currently piloting referrals for potential victims and perpetrators of gun violence in order to prevent gun violence before it occurs; and
WHEREAS, Project Peace is being built with strategies known as Group Violence Intervention (GVI) and CURE Violence; and
WHEREAS, GVI deploys a “focused deterrence” strategy involving community leaders, social service providers, and law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, focused deterrence means identifying and intervening with individuals and groups who are victims of gun violence and at the highest risk for retaliation and further perpetuating an ongoing cycle of gun violence; and
WHEREAS, GVI has been deployed in several cities across the country that have experienced high amounts of gun violence, including the cities of Chicago and Rockford, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Cincinnati, Ohio; Nashville, Tennessee; Stockton and Richmond, California; Boston and Lowell, Massachusetts; High Point, North Carolina; and New Orleans, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, GVI has a track record of reducing gun violence, with a documented association with homicide reductions of between 30% and 60%; and
WHEREAS, CURE Violence intervention involves detection of potentially violent conflict, identification and treatment of high risk individuals, and mobilization of the local community to change social norms concerning the use of violence; and
WHEREAS, the ONS in partnership with the Saint Paul Police Department ASPIRE and Healing Streets identifies high risk individuals, refers them to treatment, and mobilizes community resources to proactively correct behavior; and
WHEREAS, the ONS will continue to deploy GVI and CURE Violence interventions with residents most at risk of committing gun violence; and
WHEREAS, individuals who are victims and potential perpetrators of gun violence face emergency circumstances in which gun violence poses an imminent serious threat to the health and safety of themselves, their families, and others in their community; and
WHEREAS, certain wraparound supports including emergency transport and shelter, intensive case management and life coaching, and transitional employment programming may be necessary to effectuate and demonstrate success of Project Peace; and
WHEREAS, these emergency wraparound supports will be provided by ONS partners; and
WHEREAS, these emergency wraparound supports will assist the ONS in reducing gun violence among City of Saint Paul residents; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds a public purpose of advancing public safety by interrupting the cycle of gun violence and reducing gun violence; and
WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that by advancing public safety, reducing gun violence additionally promotes public health, general welfare, security, prosperity and contentment; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Saint Paul Administrative Ordinance § 3.02(12)(b), the ONS is authorized to establish, coordinate, and advance violence prevention and interruption efforts; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the ONS is hereby authorized to expend up to $25,000.00 on emergency wraparound supports as part of Project Peace to assist in the reduction of gun violence in the City of Saint Paul.