Cure Violence Global

Cure Violence Global
Name	Cure Violence Global
Abbreviation	CVG
Formation	2000s
Type	Nonprofit
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Region served	United States; international
Leader title	Executive Director

Cure Violence Global is a public health organization that applies disease control strategies to reduce urban violence by deploying community-based intervention workers, outreach specialists, and data-driven prevention strategies. Founded from initiatives in Chicago and informed by practices from epidemiology, conflict mediation, and public safety, the organization works with municipal agencies, neighborhood groups, and criminal justice partners to interrupt transmission of gun violence and retaliatory cycles. Its model connects street outreach, hospital-based violence intervention, and community mobilization with monitoring and evaluation methods used in Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and community health programs.

History

The program traces origins to the 1990s interventions of Gary Slutkin and partners connected to World Health Organization, UNICEF, and epidemiological responses to epidemics, evolving through Chicago pilot projects in the 2000s that involved collaborations with Chicago Police Department, local community groups, and public health researchers. Early demonstrations intersected with initiatives in neighborhoods affected by the aftermath of the 1992 Los Angeles riots and strategies used during responses to outbreaks such as cholera and HIV/AIDS to frame violence as a contagious process. Expansion in the 2010s paralleled partnerships with municipal administrations in cities like New York City, Baltimore, and New Orleans, and engaged philanthropic partners such as the MacArthur Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and local foundations.

Model and Approach

The approach centers on treating violence like an infectious disease through components reminiscent of interventions by World Health Organization task forces and field epidemiology units: detection of high-risk individuals, interruption of transmission by trained interrupters, and behavior change through credible messengers. Outreach workers often come from the same neighborhoods and are compared to caseworkers linked to programs like CeaseFire and hospital-based violence intervention programs associated with Brigham and Women's Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital. The model incorporates conflict mediation techniques similar to those practiced by groups such as Mediation Services and draws on data practices used by Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design efforts and municipal analytics teams.

Implementation and Programs

Programs have been implemented in partnership with city administrations, health departments, and hospital systems across sites including Chicago, New York City, Baltimore, Los Angeles, Oakland, Milwaukee, Cleveland, and international sites such as Mogadishu, Kabul, Monrovia, and Bogotá. Initiatives include street-level disease interruption units, hospital-based intervention and case management teams, community mobilization campaigns, and training for local nonprofits and municipal staff. Collaborations often involve law enforcement agencies like Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, D.C.) and public institutions such as Cook County Health and municipal public safety offices to coordinate violence reduction strategies.

Evidence and Evaluation

Evaluation of the model has produced mixed findings documented by researchers at institutions such as University of Illinois Chicago, University of Chicago Crime Lab, Columbia University, Yale University, and independent evaluators linked to National Institutes of Health funding streams. Randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental studies, and citywide impact assessments have reported reductions in shootings and homicides in some sites while other evaluations found null or variable effects. Major reviews and meta-analyses conducted by research centers and foundations have compared outcomes to other interventions like hot-spot policing initiatives evaluated by Rutgers University and community-based programs reviewed by Urban Institute.

Funding and Organization

Funding sources have included municipal contracts with city governments, grants from philanthropic organizations such as MacArthur Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and local family foundations, and partnerships with healthcare funders linked to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Organizational structure often features a central coordinating office with local implementing partners that include community-based nonprofits, hospital systems, and municipal agencies. Governance has involved advisory relationships with public health institutions like Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and collaboration agreements with municipal offices.

Criticisms and Controversies

Critics have raised concerns about methodology, evaluation design, scalability, and the relationship between intervention teams and police agencies, citing analyses by scholars at Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and community oversight groups. Debates have centered on implications for civil liberties, transparency in contracting with city administrations, and variation in effectiveness across social contexts similar to critiques leveled at enforcement-centered strategies such as those studied by ACLU affiliates. Some community activists and researchers have called for alternative investments in education, housing, and economic development programs promoted by organizations like Annie E. Casey Foundation and Ford Foundation.

International Adaptations and Impact

International adaptations have applied the model in fragile and post-conflict settings drawing on lessons from humanitarian responses by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, public health campaigns by World Health Organization, and peacebuilding projects linked to UNICEF and International Rescue Committee. Localized versions have been implemented in Latin America, Africa, and Asia with partners including municipal governments, international NGOs, and universities such as Universidad Nacional de Colombia and Makerere University, reporting context-dependent impacts on retaliatory violence and community perceptions of safety. The model's global diffusion has prompted cross-sector dialogues with development agencies, municipal networks like United Cities and Local Governments, and academic consortia studying urban violence.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Chicago Category:Violence prevention