In sorrow and solidarity, we grieve lives tragically lost to guns. We have come together at street corners in the North End and Midway, seeking answers and healing in the wake of tragic death. The weight of fear and trauma is heavy, particularly among communities of color who have been systemically denied access to resources to meet daily needs. To address the public health crisis of violence, we need to shift resources away from failed reactive approaches, and invest in communities and intervention efforts proven to break cycles of harm.

Critical institutions like libraries, recreation centers, schools, parks, and public spaces are essential to healthy communities. But when it comes to addressing safety and violence, we also need to invest in approaches more targeted than broad social infrastructure investments like schools and parks and more proactive than calling police after people are hurt or killed. Historic deep investments in policing and harsh punishment have harmed communities without stopping violence.

St. Paul needs to embrace effective interventions that are focused to reach those at highest risk of harm and that have shown dramatic impact on improving safety in other places. These models work because they rely on humanity, trust, and relationships, and they are the most pragmatic, lasting and cost-effective way to promote community well-being and reduce harm.

The roots of violence are complex, but not complicated. We know that a significant predictor of becoming a perpetrator or victim of violence is prior exposure to harm. If the pain experienced by an individual is not transformed, it will be transferred as harm. Violence and abuse instill fear, anger, and hopelessness, and act like a transmissible disease. Violence is a learned behavior and can be unlearned with the right interventions — interventions that are more focused and humane than arrest and incarceration, which often come tragically too late.

Using a public health framework to design interventions has proven effective. For instance, the CURE Violence Health Model works to interrupt cycles of harm by identifying and interrupting potential instances of violence, connecting highest risk individuals to supports and services to encourage behavioral change, and promoting new social and environmental norms that condemn violence.

Originated in Chicago, CURE Violence relies on “credible messengers” who are rooted in their community, have shared lived histories,, and are trusted by those impacted by the causes and conditions of violence. Messengers work to establish trust and credibility with the highest risk individuals. Through strong relationships, the messengers can promote behavioral change, and teach new skills like de-escalation, anger management, and how to save face and walk away. Messengers also connect people to critical social service supports in areas like employment, housing, trauma supports, and mental and chemical health. Mistakes are expected, but violence is never tolerated. Messengers work to hold participants accountable for their behavior.

In addition to focusing on individual behavioral change, the CURE model works to change the environments and social norms that sometimes normalize violence. Messengers may engage in activities like door to door canvasing, hosting community events, and spreading new positive norms shift peer dynamics and delegitimize violence. Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York have seen 40 to 70% reductions in violent acts in their CURE zones.

Many lives also have been saved in Oakland, CA, where sustained, collaborative efforts of the Ceasefire Initiative have resulted in a dramatic 50% reduction in murders and nonfatal shootings since 2012. The cornerstone of the initiative is calling-in people on active probation or parole to meet with community leaders, clergy, service providers, and community members harmed by violence. Participants are taught about long-term impact of their actions and are offered pathways to paid job training, substance abuse counseling, and legal support if they stop engaging in violence. They are also put on notice that violence will be met with certain and swift response.

There’s growing consensus in our community that it is time for these types of approaches. In a healing circle in the North End near one of the recent shootings, nearly 50 people came together to connect and reflect. Residents asked for jobs, housing, safe places for youth, opportunities, mentors, mental and chemical health programming, and economic development. No one asked for more police.

These approaches have lasting transformative impact by promoting individual accountability and collective responses, offer new pathways and hope, strengthen communities, and reckon with the ugly realities of racism, injustice and lack of opportunities. Without these essential components, we set up enforcement agencies to fail because they are tasked to fix a problem with the wrong set of tools. And communities remain vulnerable to harm.

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Caryn Sullivan: ‘9 Secrets to Thriving’ arrived at the right moment in this year of adversity In the painful aftermath of these recent tragedies, we ask our leaders to connect with the most impacted communities and direct city and county resources to community-based approaches that offer lasting solutions to safety and wellbeing. Lives depend on our conscious efforts to anchor our budgets and actions in values of trust, connection, and compassion.

Monica Bravo is executive director of the West Side Community Organization. Tonja Honsey is founder of We Rise. Laura LaBlanc is active in the St. Paul-based group INEquality. Raj Sethuraju is an associate professor in the School of Law Enforcement at Metro State University. Danielle Swift is a housing advocate.