Public Health Approaches to Firearm Violence Prevention

Issue Brief by Eileen Salinsky

Firearm injuries are a serious public health problem, killing more than 47,000 Americans each year and becoming the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States in 2020. Given the impact and complexity of this health crisis, Grantmakers in Health (GIH) hosted a first-ever preconference session focused on firearm violence in advance of the June 2023 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy. Session speakers briefed partners on the causes of gun violence and provided an opportunity for health funders to learn more about potential solutions through a public health lens. This Issue Brief provides highlights of the meeting’s proceedings and previews GIH’s plans to convene a funder learning collaborative on firearm violence prevention to continue the peer learning and sharing that began at the preconference session.

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The Gun Violence Epidemic: Lessons From Newark, New Jersey

The Newark, New Jersey community has made remarkable progress improving community safety and reducing gun violence. This past June, a seminal report, The Future of Public Safety: Exploring the Power and Possibility of Newark’s Reimagined Public Safety Ecosystem, was released by Equal Justice USA, the City of Newark, and the Newark Community Street Team. Researchers utilized community participatory research to assess Newark’s impactful approaches to improving public safety.

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TRAILS: A Landmark Public-Private Partnership for Youth Mental Health

As funders, we recognize that expansive challenges often require expansive solutions—and that building sustainable mental health support requires broad community buy-in. Our work with the University of Michigan organization TRAILS exemplifies this effort: by embedding mental health services directly into schools, TRAILS works to ensure that all students have access to the care they need.

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Gun Violence Prevention

A key topic of conversation at this year’s GIH board retreat was the role of health philanthropy and GIH in responding to gun violence.

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