Cash for Violence Reduction

We’re partnering with hospital-based violence intervention programs and community-based organizations to provide direct cash assistance and make a meaningful difference in the lives of individuals and families impacted by, or at risk of, violence.

Providing direct cash assistance to individuals to cover their basic needs helps to strengthen economic and household security, reduce stress, and enhance positive outcomes, which, in turn, reduces the risk of violence and suicide as per the Centers for Disease Control.

Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program Pilot

New Haven, 2022 - present

4-CT is partnering with the Yale New Haven Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) and the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI) to determine the effectiveness of flexible cash transfers to promote positive outcomes for victims of violence, (including but not limited to gun violence, human trafficking, intimate partner violence, physical assault and sexual assault) particularly in their post-injury recovery.

The aim of the program is to bolster efforts in the emergency room and in the months following injury to empower individuals to recover, make changes in their lives, prevent future injury and end the cycle of violence.

Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program Pilot Expansion

Hartford, 2024 - present

4-CT is partnering Connecticut Children’s and their HVIP partners in Hartford to provide no-strings-attached cash transfers to victims of violence. Supported by the City of Hartford, this efforts aims to improve outcomes for victims, stabilize households, and reduce violence.

This partnership in Hartford, coordinated by Kevin Borrup, DrPH of Connecticut Children’s Injury Prevention Center, expands upon our collaborative efforts with Yale’s HVIP and the HAVI.

Prevention

Hartford and New Haven, 2024 - 2025

4-CT, with support from a Community Violence Intervention Grant funded by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, partnered with community-based organizations working with HVIPs in Hartford and New Haven, where we were already bolstering violence intervention efforts.

By providing direct cash transfers to individuals at risk of violence, we aim to strengthen economic and household security, reduce stress, and enhance positive outcomes. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, doing so helps reduce the risk for violence and suicide.

City of New Haven

2024 - present

4-CT is partnering with the City of New Haven and its Department of Community Resilience to distribute direct cash in an effort to reduce violence through its Violence Prevention Intervention and Expansion efforts as well as PRESS (Program for Reintegration, Engagement, Safety, and Support).

City of Waterbury

Upcoming

More details will be available in summer 2026.

City of Bridgeport

Upcoming

More details will be available in fall 2026.

In CT, from 2013 to 2022, the rate of gun suicide increased 40% and gun homicide, which disproportionately impacts Black and Latine individuals, increased 73%.

Victims of violence face physical injuries as well as psychological and emotional disturbances (i.e., PTSD, depression, substance use disorder, etc.)

Everytown for Gun Safety reports that gun deaths and injuries cost CT $2.6B each year, of which $57.1M is paid by taxpayers.

In the U.S., violent injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among those ages 15-34.

Many victims suffer from repeat victimizations. In urban settings, researchers estimate that up to 41% of patients treated for violence injury are reinjured within 5 years.

Firearms contribute significantly to domestic/intimate partner violence (DV/IPV). The intersection of guns and DV/IVP has a disproportionate impact on Black and Latina women.

“I just want you to know that sometimes y’all literally save lives.

A family with two kids, who are being targeted in retaliation for a recent shooting, have been staying in a hotel. The situation has not yet been resolved and funding for the hotel, from another source, ran out just as everything is shutting down for the weekend. Thanks to 4-CT being able to get cash onto a prepaid card within an hour, the kids can stay out of harm’s way, preventing two shootings this weekend. ”

— Clifford Beers