This interim evaluation report presents findings regarding the Oakland Department of Violence Prevention’s group violence response (GVR) strategy. This strategy responds to violent incidents and mediates conflicts to prevent violence from spreading. The strategy also engages people at an elevated risk of involvement in violence in a variety of services to reduce that risk and support their success.

What we found

From July 2022 through June 2024, there were nearly 700 responses to shooting scenes and over 2,000 people received services within the GVR strategy. The service providers made over 2,100 referrals to other services for the participants. Service providers emphasized the importance of relationship building and communication across organizations to successfully support people directly affected by violence.

In terms of service outcomes, approximately half of youth and adult life coaching participants completed their goals during the evaluation period. Most participants in employment support services successfully entered into jobs or internships. We also found that receiving more services was associated with a slightly decreased likelihood of arrest for adult life coaching participants. We did not find any association for all participants in the GVR strategy overall.