In the Group Violence Intervention (GVI), the traditional “social services” framework is replaced with a broader structure tailored to members of the special core street population, their situation, and their needs. Traditional social services were not necessarily designed to reduce violence, and people closest to group violence are not the average people seeking social services. They are at extremely high risk for violent victimization and live with past and ongoing trauma. Because of these factors, many GVI clients are not ready for traditional social services like remedial education and employment training. In the GVI framework, these clients instead receive “support and outreach.” We define support as providing centralized and accessible services for people at high risk of violence. Outreach in this framework is defined as making deliberate, persistent, and consistent connections to people involved in violence to foster new relationships and build community.
