The Firearm-Related Harm and Violence Prevention Program Office
The Firearm-Related Harm and Violence Prevention (FHVP) Program Office aims to build a sustained and responsive multi-sector movement to prevent firearm-related death and injury in Colorado through a public health approach.
The long-term vision for this work is that each community that struggles with firearm-related harm has the tools, knowledge, and community-level partnerships to implement strategic public-health strategies to reduce and prevent firearm-related harm and violence.
In 2023, Colorado’s Public Health Roundtable on Firearm-Related Violence Prevention brought together nearly 100 community leaders, researchers, public health experts, and health care providers to build an effective community-based approach to firearm harm prevention in Colorado. Overwhelmingly, the community present at the convening named the need for developing infrastructure and building collaborative community funding as essential keys to success to ensure that the wealth of action and opportunity identified within the public health approach is not only acted upon, but sustained well into the future.
The FHVP Program Office has been incubated to meet this call to action, serving as a centralized, apolitical strategic partner for carrying this work forward into communities.
Efforts to effectively reduce firearm-related death and injury require that we foster bipartisan cooperation and empower collaboration between systems and communities who are impacted by firearm-related harm.
The FHVP Program Office aims to serve as a catalyst for transformative collaboration in Colorado. Through authentic community engagement, the program office will bridge coordination across communities, governmental entities, academic institutions, private sector partners, and philanthropic leaders to enact evidenced-based strategies for preventing harm from firearms and address the root cause of different types of firearm-related death and injury.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization outline a public health approach to harm and violence prevention based on four steps:
- Define and monitor the problem through systematic data collection.
- Identify risk and protective factors specific to why harm and violence occurs and who it affects.
- Develop and test prevention strategies, including evaluating interventions to see what works.
- Ensure widespread adoption of effective strategies.
Learn more about public health approach to prevent firearm harm through Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
A Roadmap for Transformative Action
Following Colorado’s 2023 Public Health Roundtable on Firearm-Related Violence Prevention, Wellstone Collaborative Strategies and Trailhead Institute produced a summary report with analysis support from Colorado Health Institute and review from roundtable participants presenting a comprehensive understanding of how firearm-related death and injury impacts people living in Colorado. The report introduces a population-level approach informed by a statewide, cross-sector collaborative of experts to address the factors that contribute to and protect communities from firearm harm.
The summary report lays a comprehensive foundation for innovation and a clear roadmap for action for the FHVP Program Office. It is also intended to support the work of community leaders, researchers, public health professionals, healthcare providers, funders, and all those working to prevent firearm-related death and injury in identifying opportunities for action and implementing necessary change across Colorado communities.
Beginning This Work
In the pilot year, the FHVP Program Office will focus on learning from communities about what’s working and what’s needed to address the types of firearm-related harm they experience. The FHVP Program Office will meet with young people, parents, educators, faith leaders, firearm owners, researchers, local political leaders and many others across the state who want to be part of the solution to ensure their unique perspectives are included in this public health approach to firearm-related harm prevention. These outreach efforts will inform the development of a strategic plan to build action from the 2023 Roundtable report and support the creation of a second statewide convening later this year.
Guiding This Work
The FHVP Program Office is led by Jonathan McMillan, Trailhead’s Director of Firearm- Related Harm Prevention, in collaboration with Holly Coleman, Trailhead’s Director of Philanthropy. To learn more about engaging with the program office, please email FHVP@trailhead.institute.