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Gun Violence Reduction

Gun violence imposes a terrible cost on our youth, our families, and our neighborhoods. In the City of Pittsburgh:

  • Gun violence has increased by 43% since 2018.
  • More than 400 shootings, assaults with a firearm, and homicides with a firearm were documented in 2021.
  • There is an escalating pattern of gun-related violence unfolding in 2022.

This violence disproportionately affects communities of color within their own neighborhoods, even as they struggle to cope with the shock of police shootings reported nationally.

Many in the Pittsburgh community – local grassroots organizations, faith leaders, activists, and residents of Pittsburgh, as well as city leaders and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police – are deeply committed to ending this cycle of loss and trauma. Individually, they are doing important work, but their efforts are often conducted in isolation, and without the resources they need to address the root causes of gun violence.

Together, we can change the course

As a new community partner, The Hear Foundation focuses on bringing concerned parties together to listen to one another, and to reach consensus around actionable strategies. Grantmaking supports local programs that engage residents and police together. These may include initiatives that:

  • Intervene in the lives of young people in underserved neighborhoods.
  • Build infrastructure to support trauma-informed mental health services
  • Help reduce the flow of guns into the community
  • Transform physical spaces to prevent violence
  • Enable outreach prevention

“It is critical for police and community to work together to address gun violence because police are only one spoke in the wheel of public safety. We are all responsible for creating a safer community. The Hear Foundation provides not only a forum for the people of Pittsburgh and police to identify issues and develop solutions, but also a funding stream to initiate pilot programs that others can’t or have chosen not to fund.”

Christopher Ragland, Police Commander, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police

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