Focused on stopping the spread of violence in Camden City neighborhoods.
Cure4Camden is a community-based violence intervention program to stop shootings and violence in Camden City using methods and strategies associated with disease control: detecting and interrupting conflicts, identifying and treating high risk individuals, and changing social norms.
Cure4Camden aims at reducing street violence by stopping shootings and killings in the short-term and changing the underlying conditions that give rise to shootings and killings in the long-term. The campaign includes efforts to heighten community awareness about gun violence and encourage area residents and community, business, and faith-based leaders to work together to stop the violence in Camden City.
Cure4Camden is focused on stopping the spread of violence in the Camden City communities of:
- Liberty Park
- Whitman Park
- Centerville
- Cooper Plaza/Lanning Square
Contact
For more information contact our Access Center at 1.877.922.2377 or access@centerffs.org
Our Approach
Modeled after Chicago's Cure Violence program, Cure4Camden approaches violence as a disease that can be stopped.
Cure4Camden utilizes the Cure Violence three-pronged public health approach that involves:
- Detection and Interruption - Trained violence interrupters and outreach workers aim to prevent shootings by identifying and mediating potentially lethal conflicts in the community and following up to ensure that the conflict does not reignite
- Behavior Change - Trained, culturally appropriate outreach workers identify and work with the highest risk individuals, those likely to shoot or be shot, in an effort to make them less likely to commit violence. They will walk by their side and help them understand the cost of violence and connect them with social services in an effort to better their lives. Outreach workers will redirect high risk individuals to positive pursuits, including jobs, job training, and returning to school
- Changing Community Norms - The Cure4Camden interrupters and outreach workers engage the community to get involved by conveying the message that violence is not normal and the behavior can change. Posters, brochures, flyers, yard signs, banners, t-shirts and other materials are used to facilitate behavior change, promote non-violence, and carry pointed messages about the consequences of shootings and killings.
The Team
The Cure4Camden team consists of outreach workers, interrupters, and hospital responders who work in the communities in which they live or grew up. They have been selected to join the Cure4Camden team because they know the community and have been identified as credible messengers. These individuals, some of whom may have contributed to the problem at one time, are uniquely effective at solving the problem as a credible, professional intervener and messenger promoting non-violent solutions and a new way of life.
Through monthly events, like peace rallies and community activities, all neighborhood residents can get involved in promoting the message of peace.
Join the Movement
Cure4Camden is a movement of people - from civic leaders, corporate headquarters, to neighborhood corners, businesses, and empowered communities - who understand violence is a disease that spreads, but one that can be cured. Together we can bring a message of hope and a model for ending violence in our community.
Suggested ways community members can get involved:
- Spread the message by displaying a Cure4Camden poster in the window. Engage neighbors in conversation about bringing peace back to the streets.
- Join the Cure4Camden team in peace marches
- Volunteer at peace events and activities
Cure4Camden is part of the City of Camden's comprehensive approach to improving public safety and changing outcomes for youth as part of the City's National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Plan. Camden was selected as one of 4 cities in 2013 to develop a plan that focuses on four key pillars: prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry. The City launched the community-based intervention program in the winter/spring of 2014 in collaboration with Center For Family Services and Faith Based Organizations, including Muhammad's Temple #20.
Cure4Camden is funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and led by the City of Camden. Partners include local community, civic, business, and faith based organizations.
