The Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) is dedicated to investigating, understanding, and addressing violence through a public health approach. This approach focuses on the root causes of violence and guides a coordinated prevention effort to engage community-based organizations, public safety partners, and community advocates.
Violence is a public health issue that creates a ripple effect throughout communities. Within Alameda County, violence is a leading cause of death. It is tied to adverse health outcomes such as trauma, depression, increased rates of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and asthma.
OVP supports the county through:
- Partnering with community violence intervention programs that address violence and trauma.
- Serving as a convener, bringing together diverse stakeholders to work collaboratively on intervention and prevention strategies.
- Expanding Alameda County Health capacity to prevent, intervene, and reduce the impacts of violence in Alameda County; and,
- Implementing “Promoting Peaceful Families & Communities” strategies in support of the Community Health Improvement Plan.
OVP is currently working to support prevention and intervention efforts in the areas of gun violence, intimate partner violence, youth/young adult suicide prevention, and hate-motivated violence.
Centering Health Equity:
We recognize that violence is the result of historical and present-day national, state, and local public policy choices and institutional practices that shape inequities in the conditions in which people live, work, learn, and play in Alameda County.
