HFNJ’s Lisa Block Discusses Philanthropy’s Role in Reducing Gun Violence in Newark
January 31, 2023Grantmakers In Health’s Views From The Field has published an interview with HFNJ’s Senior Program Officer Lisa Block on the remarkable progress Newark, NJ community leaders and residents have made improving community safety and reducing gun violence.
Block shares the findings of the seminal report released last June, The Future of Public Safety: Exploring the Power and Possibility of Newark’s Reimagined Public Safety Ecosystem. The report shows that homicides in Newark have fallen by more than 50% in the last decade, and assesses the various approaches the Newark community has taken to improve public safety.
In the piece, Block also discusses the role health philanthropy has played. Since 2016, The Healthcare Foundation of NJ has invested more than $2.5 million in Newark’s public safety ecosystem – growing from “a seed to a garden we have watered and has developed organically.” In that time period, HFNJ provided crucial funding to support many of the most impactful leaders, organizations, and models that have led to the substantial decrease in violence in Newark.
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