Supporting Individuals Impacted by Street Violence

After a violent incident, it’s essential for organizations work together to make sure that individuals and communities affected by violence get the services they need. Both the Crisis Response System and the Street Violence Response Team (SVRT) respond to violent incidents. The Office of Violence Prevention Services helps different city departments and organizations involved in the response system work together smoothly.

The Crisis Response System

How Does the Crisis Response System Work?

The Crisis Response System (CRS) is a partnership between many city departments and local organizations. The CRS makes sure that people affected by a violent incident get the services and support they need immediately. Violent incidents are incidents such as shootings, homicides, or serious assaults.

After a violent incident, CRS members reach out to community members to understand the circumstances of the event. CRS members work to understand what sort of support victims and the community needs, both immediately and long-term. By facilitating communication with the community and between organizations, the CRS makes sure that city departments and local organizations services are matched with the community’s needs.

At the hospital, CRS members make sure that victims and families get the support they need. The CRS also takes action to prevent any violence at the hospital. This prevents the incident from getting worse or causing other incidents and keeps everyone safe.

In the hours and days following a violent incident, the Crisis Response System makes sure that all the organizations that are a part of it have the best possible understanding of a situation. This shared understanding allows the organizations to create a plan which ensures that the victim, their family, witnesses, and the community receive the support they need.

Who is a part of the Crisis Response System?

The members of the crisis response system include the Distric Attorney's Office, the Department of Public Health's Crisis Response Team, The Wraparound Project at UCSF, and the Street Violence Intervention Program.

Contact the Crisis Response System Partners

If you would like to recommend services for an individual impacted by a violent crime, there are four people you might contact.

• Dr. Gena Castro Rodriguez, Psy.D., LMFT
  Chief of Victim Services, Office of District Attorney George Gascón
  (415) 734-3359
• Stephanie Felder
  Director of Comprehensive Crisis Services, Department of Public Health
  (415) 970-3825
• James Caldwell
  Crisis Response Manager, Street Violence Intervention Program
  (415) 572-7008
• Mike Texada
  Social Work Associate and Community Liaison, The Wraparound Project at UCSF
  (415) 206-4482

The Street Violence Response Team

How does the Street Violence Response Team (SVRT) Work?

While the Crisis Response System begins work immediately after a violent incident, the Street Violence Response Team works continuously. The Mayor’s Office of Violence Prevention Services brings together the team every week to review violent incidents and coordinate ongoing work on these incidents.

A longer-term response includes making sure that individuals affected by an incident continue to get the services they need in the weeks and months afterwards. This might include getting individuals counseling for trauma, ongoing case management, or support finding housing or employment. Just as the SVRT looks at what individuals need in the weeks and months following an incident, they also look at what communities need. For example, they might plan a community event to address trauma in the wake of an incident.

The Street Violence Response Team also looks for possible factors that are impacting the safety of an area. For example, the team might decide that an area needs better street lighting based on the circumstances of incidents nearby. Because the team works continuously, members monitor follow-up for the incidents that they have reviewed in the past.

The Street Violence Response Team helps people affected by violent incidents recover, and prevents future violence.

Who is on the Street Violence Response Team?

The members of the Street Violence Response Team are representatives from city departments, community-based, and faith-based organizations. More specifically, the team includes representatives from the Mayor’s Office, the Board of Supervisors, the San Francisco Police Department, the Adult Probation Department, the Juvenile Probation Department, the Department of Public Health, the Housing Authority, the District Attorney’s Office, the San Francisco Unified School District, the Street Violence Intervention Program, faith-based leaders, and others.