The Bullet Related Injury Clinic Awarded $100,000 Support Grant From Everytown Community Safety Fund
10.4.2024
Investment in Community Violence Intervention Initiatives Will Support the BRIC’s Trauma-Informed Care and Community Healing Initiatives to Combat Gun Violence in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS—Today, the Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF), part of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, has announced $100,000 in funding for The BRIC (Bullet Related Injury Clinic to advance its work of ending gun violence in St. Louis and better position the organization to access federal funding. This grant is part of Everytown Community Safety Fund’s more than $2 million investment in 20 gun violence intervention organizations nationwide announced today. The Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF), a program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, is the largest national initiative solely dedicated to fueling the life-saving work of community-based violence intervention organizations in cities nationwide.
According to the U.S. Surgeon General, a public health approach to gun related injury and violence prevention requires immediate “investments in community‑based interventions and educational programs.” The BRIC is a community-based clinic in St. Louis that helps people heal after they have been injured by a bullet. Through community engagement efforts, BRIC provides responsive, trauma-informed, accessible, and culturally competent care. BRIC focuses on bridging care between emergency services and long-term trauma recovery for those suffering from bullet-related injuries. BRIC addresses a core challenge of bullet-related injuries: broken trust. Being wounded by, having a loved one taken by, or being threatened by a bullet breaks the trust that your body, home, and community are safe places to be. BRIC provides a trauma-informed healing space for survivors to rebuild this trust.
“The Bullet Related Injury Clinic continues to be a lifesaving resource in St. Louis’ fight against gun violence,” said St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, Co-Chair of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. “Gun violence prevention requires intervention and investment at every level, from the federal government to those doing the work on the ground. Support from the 2024 Everytown Community Safety Fund will help BRIC continue their critical work of ending cycles of violence and gun-related injuries. Together, we will continue to prioritize the health and safety of our communities – no matter their zip code.”
“We are excited to announce the Bullet Related Injury Clinic will be a recipient of 2024 Everytown Community Safety Fund support grant,” said Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of Community Safety Initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and creator of the Everytown Community Safety Fund. “BRIC’s crucial work, providing care and support for gun violence survivors, is a vital part of St. Louis’ CVI ecosystem and gun violence prevention efforts. The BRIC provides a new hospital-based violence intervention model that will help innovate the entire field. For that reason, Everytown is excited to continue to invest in Dr. Punch’s lifesaving program, and support their continued efforts to deliver holistic, trauma-informed care that helps break cycles of violence.”
“I founded The BRIC to provide a place of healing from the trauma created by bullet injuries in St. Louis, providing critical aftercare for patients and families to address the wounds seen and unseen Survivor needs go beyond the physical and include the emotional, mental, social, and spiritual toll of bullet related injuries—including the impact felt when people are threatened or lose a loved one to a bullet,” said Dr. LJ Punch, executive director and founder of The Bric. Dr. Punch is a trauma surgeon. “This new grant from the Everytown Community Safety Fund will allow us to continue our lifesaving work by ensuring our program has the consistent staffing and patient supplies needed to sustain our mobile engagement and clinical space. We are incredibly grateful our work is being recognized and invested in, giving us the opportunity to help more the greater St. Louis metropolitan area heal from the injuries that bullets create, and in turn, prevent future injuries.”
Since 2019, the Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF) has granted over $13 million in support of 136 community-based violence intervention organizations implementing promising strategies, like street outreach, hospital-based violence interventions and youth development and counseling, in more than 69 American cities. This latest round of support grants, currently CSF’s largest grant offering, will provide grant recipients $100,000, in two disbursements over two years, as well as access to CSF’s quarterly calls, peer convenings, capacity-building trainers, national conferences, as well as support from Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and its grassroots networks Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, and national partners.
The full list of community-based violence intervention organizations currently supported by the Everytown Community Safety Fund and more information about the fund can be found here.As 18,000 people in the United States die from gun homicides annually, and at least two times more are wounded by nonfatal gun assaults, the violence carries an immense human and economic toll, with survivors facing lifelong physical, emotional, and financial challenges, as well as an increased risk for violent reinjury. Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) break this cycle by connecting survivors at their hospital bedsides to violence prevention professionals — staff members with cultural competence, lived experience, and/or expertise in navigating victim and violence prevention services. HVIPs have been seen to be highly effective in preventing re inquiry, with one case study in Baltimore showing participants in HVIPs being six times less likely to be hospitalized for another violent injury two years post–program completion, compared to nonparticipants.
Gun homicide has significantly declined in cities across the nation from a post-pandemic spike — due in part to the scaling and city coordination efforts with community based violence intervention organizations working on the frontlines of the gun violence epidemic in cities across the country. And though local communities have seen a reduction in gun violence, data shows that gun homicide rates in the U.S. are still 26 times higher than in other developed countries. In the United States, every day, more than 120 Americans are killed with guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded.
About the Everytown Community Safety Fund
Everytown Community Safety Fund, a program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, is the largest national initiative solely dedicated to fueling the life-saving work of community-based violence intervention organizations in cities nationwide. Since 2019, the Everytown Community Safety Fund has granted over $13 million in support of 136 community-based violence intervention organizations implementing promising strategies, like street outreach, hospital-based violence interventions and youth development and counseling, in more than 69 American cities.
About the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly 10 million supporters. The Everytown Support Fund seeks to improve our understanding of the causes of gun violence and help to reduce it by conducting groundbreaking original research, developing evidence-based policies, communicating this knowledge to the American public, and advancing gun safety and gun violence prevention in communities. Learn more at www.everytownsupportfund.org.