NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven is expanding services aimed at gun violence prevention. City leaders and several local partner organizations announced new funding Monday to support people returning from prison at high risk of involvement with guns.
A $2 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance will enable the expansion of the P.R.E.S.S. gun violence prevention initiative.
The P.R.E.S.S. initiative (“Program for Reintegration, Engagement, Safety, and Support”) first launched in March 2022 with a focus on young adults and adults returning from incarceration with a current or prior conviction of a firearm-related offense or individuals and gang/group members who are identified to be at higher risk of involvement with firearms.
“The reality is the percentage of people that return to prison is all too high in our city. In recent years, 32% of individuals released or discharged from Connecticut correction facilities are reincarnated within one year,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker. “During COVID, we saw a spike in gun violence and we’re starting to see that in New Haven that trend go downward. When you look at our statistics, in 2022 at this time in the year, we had 115 people shot in the city. In 2023, we have 95."
The initiative aims to reduce shooting incidents and recidivism and to increase successful reintegration into society through a coordinated, whole-systems, multi-agency approach with evidenced-based practices, supports, services and supportive case management.
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The new federal grant will allow the program to expand and enhance its existing services with life coaches, a workforce development/career resource specialist, and a family case manager that provides support and assistance to co-parents, partners, and children of P.R.E.S.S. clients, among other items.
“We have folks who are high-risk in the community right now. We don’t have to wait until they’re incarcerated and for them to come out. This capacity, having more people on the team is actually going to allow us to go into the community and work with folks who are at risk right now,” said Dijonee Talley, special projects director in the New Haven Department of Community Resilience.
“In my 26 years of law enforcement, I always felt like law enforcement was dumped with all the responsibilities of society, and we didn’t have a lot of help, and now we have a lot of help,” said New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson.
The Office of Violence Prevention leads the P.R.E.S.S. initiative within the New Haven Department of Community Resilience which partners with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Connecticut (Project Safe Neighborhoods), Connecticut State Department of Correction (DOC), Connecticut Court Support Services Division (Adult Probation Services), New Haven Police Department, Project M.O.R.E., Connecticut Violence Intervention Prevention Program (CT VIP), Project Longevity, University of New Haven, National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, and 4-CT, among others.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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