Philly group violence intervention initiative expands to include youth

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From the age of 13, Stanley Brown took on parental responsibilities, caring for his three brothers and the late aunt who raised him. To help support his family, Brown told WHYY, he turned to selling drugs. “I grew up kind of like a father,” he said.

After years of lacking access to resources for a better life, Brown’s situation changed when an officer from his neighborhood police district contacted Philadelphia’s Group Violence Intervention (GVI) initiative.

In August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the city launched a program designed to address group-related gun violence and substance abuse while providing behavioral health counseling, family and individual therapy, and workforce development.

According to Philadelphia’s Office of Public Safety, 82 community-based groups have received GVI services since then. Of the 1,337 residents who are eligible for services, 82% have been contacted by the city.

Joining the program changed Brown’s outlook, and even his opportunities. “They asked me what I needed, and I told them, ‘A job.’ I probably had an interview within 72 hours,” Brown said.

He admitted that the transition wasn’t easy. Staying off the streets required discipline and trusting the support GVI offered. “I was really hard-headed,” Brown said. “Everybody in the neighborhood could tell me what was going to happen … but I had to see it myself. There are only two outcomes in the streets—dead or in jail.”

Brown was 21 when he started the GVI program; the now-25-year-old is a surveyor for the City’s Streets department.

While GVI focuses on individuals most at risk of involvement in gun violence between ages 18 to 34, the program recently expanded to include youth ages 12 to 17.

“The GVI strategy focus is a law enforcement strategy,” said Deion Sumpter, GVI’s director, who was incarcerated right out of high school.

“But up until this point, prevention was something that I felt was lacking. And I think with this expansion of our juvenile program, GVI now incorporates a prevention focus, which is something that we are really super-excited about.”

Mark Johnson, a case manager with the GVI program, said the desire to help is key, but realities do temper the work that has to be done.

“But because of their upbringing and the traumas that they face in the rewiring of their brains due to the traumas,” Johnson said, “it’s hard to adapt to a different way of living.

And it requires a lot of patience and requires a lot of understanding. The beauty of our office is that most of us have lived experience.”

The expansion, funded through federal support from Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, is a pilot in North Philadelphia’s 22nd police district.

The program aims to engage youth showing early signs of risky behavior or involvement in group activities, especially those not yet fully involved in the criminal justice system.