MANSFIELD — Violence should be treated as a contagious disease, a true public health issue, according to a leader from Cure Violence Global.
That was the key message from R. Brent Decker, chief program officer for CVG, when he met with 32 local leaders in an online session Friday morning.
Decker explained how the program has met with success around the country and the world over the last 20 years.
“We really understand violence is a contagious process, meaning that it causes more of itself. This is kind of the definition of contagion. Something that causes more of itself.
“If we treat violence like an epidemic, we can actually get results on a community level. So 25 years ago, this wasn’t as understood as it is now, but there’s been a ton of research done about violence and its contagious nature.
“I think it’s really well established (now) in terms of that’s how (violence) operates,” said Decker, who has a master’s degree in public health from Tulane University.
The information session was arranged by the North End Community Improvement Collaborative, Inc. and OhioHealth Mansfield, who are coordinating and investing in community-based solutions to gun violence, specifically violence interruption programming.
Aurelio Diaz, a community organizer for NECIC and who represents the 5th Ward on Mansfield City Council, said the next step is to secure funding that would allow CVG to conduct an assessment to determine if Mansfield qualifies for the program.
There have already been five fatal shootings in Mansfield in 2023.
Decker cited the similarities with violence to disease epidemics, including population clustering, means of transmission and epidemic waves.
By employing a three-pronged strategy of interrupting transmission, identifying and changing behavior, and changing community norms, Cure Violence Global has successfully made a significant impact in communities worldwide, he said.
The program strategically deploys violence interrupters, individuals with firsthand experience in violence-prone communities, who work to mediate conflicts before they escalate.
CVG will work with local organizations to train local residents to work in the community. He said CVG doesn’t open local operations.
“These are folks that are from the community, that have lived the experience, that have kind of credibility with those who are likely to be involved in violence.
“Their job is to work in the areas that they’re from, to maintain relationships, to build relationships. So so when they hear about conflicts brewing, they try to step in and interrupt some of the back and forth to try and mediate situations and cool situations down.
“Or if a violent event takes place, they try to prevent retaliation,” Decker aid.
These interrupters act as credible messengers, using their own credibility and understanding of the community to intervene and prevent potential acts of violence.
“This gets back to this idea of really understanding what’s going on and moving away from moralism and ‘bad people,’ and even bad choices of folks that need to be punished … and really understanding the contextual nature of violence and what drives it,” Decker said.
“We understand this mode of transmission really takes place in the brain. As a human being, if I am exposed to violence, if I observe violence, if I experience trauma, things of this nature, it can fundamentally change the way that I kind of choose to act when confronted with conflicts or with confronted with certain issues,” he said.
He cited the program’s success in certain areas of large cities such as New York City (63 percent reduction in shooting victimizations in 2018), Philadelphia (30 percent reduction in shootings in 2017), Chicago (31 reduction in killings in 2014) and Baltimore (56 percent reduction in killings in 2012).
Decker said the program works in “cooling down hot spots,” reducing violence per square mile.
He said the program’s successes have been noted in the media, including a 2011 documentary titled “The Interrupters.”
Decker said “interrupters” must be from the community in which they are working.
“The first question I have to ask myself as a worker is ‘Do I have credibility to intervene in this situation?’ And if the answer is no, then I have to leave it alone.
“We’re thinking about this long term. It’s relational. So there might be something brewing today (and) maybe I can’t touch this. But I’m building the relationship for that. The next time something comes up, we can kind of step in,” he said.
