Connecticut Children’s Medical Center receives $1 million grant to protect children from gun violence
New England Council member, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center has received a $1 million grant from The Tow Foundation. The grant will support the hospital’s efforts to identify children with high levels of exposure to violence and connect these children and their families to violence intervention and prevention services.
“We are so grateful to The Tow Foundation for their support of the Strengthening Connections to Opportunities for Prevention Engagement (SCOPE) project to enable us to address the critical issue of violence prevention for Hartford children and youths,” said Executive vice president for Community Child Health at CCMC, Dr. Paul Dworkin. Dworkin said the grant will help them identify children at high risk of violent injuries, assess the concerns and needs of them and their families, and employ care coordinators to facilitate connections with community-based programs and services.
The city of Hartford has seen a rise in gun violence in recent years, as in 2022, 12 children were injured, and 15 died from guns, with 1/6 of children visiting the CCMC’s Emergency Department each year being from Hartford. The SCOPE project hopes to address both the prevention and treatment of violence relating to guns in an effort to break the cycle of violence in Hartford.
The New England Council would like to congratulate CCMC on the steps taken towards helping improve the safety of those at risk of gun violence.
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