INTERVENTION Caught in the Crossfire

The time directly after violence erupts in a community is vital for determining what happens next. Through Caught in the Crossfire (CiC), a Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP), Youth ALIVE! staff meet victims of violence at their hospital bedsides to:

1. convince them, their friends and family not to retaliate; and

2. offer ongoing personal support focused on safety, healing, and growth.

CiC Intervention Specialists—credible messengers of change recruited from the community we serve—address both the urgent need for violence intervention and the ongoing service needs of survivors, helping them get back to life. Caught in the Crossfire is the first Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP).

In 2022, CiC:

» Served 171 clients and an additional 284 received short-term crisis intervention

» Of those 171, only 4% were re-injured

» 90 received assistance in obtaining Victim of Crime compensation

» 72 received help with an education plan

» 61 received help with employment

» 28 received housing assistance

In area teams, Youth ALIVE!’s Violence Interrupters (VIs) take to the streets of Oakland at all hours, heading to wherever violent conflict or escalation is brewing, to engage those involved, to bring alternative solutions, peaceful resolutions, and to defuse tensions before the guns come out again.

VIs are from the very communities and neighborhoods where they now work to save lives. Most have worked in street outreach for years. Most lived the street life or spent time incarcerated. They understand the nuances of community conflicts, the barriers faced and the great promise of young people in Oakland’s most impacted neighborhoods. They