For more information about what data is available for request, click here.
Overview
The Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), housed within the Department of Public Health, works to strengthen coordination, capacity and partnerships to address the root causes of violence, and to advance policies and practices that are grounded in race equity, to prevent all forms of violence and to promote healing across all communities in Los Angeles County. OVP monitors the trends and circumstances of violent deaths affecting Los Angeles County to inform decision makers and program planners about ways to prevent and intervene on violence in the community, at home and in the workplace.
OVP sponsors gun safety activities throughout Gun Violence Awareness Month
In conjunction with the just-concluded Gun Violence Awareness Month, OVP participated in or supported numerous events across Los Angeles County that elevated the theme of gun safety, especially how each of us has a crucial part to play in building communities free from firearm violence. This year, Gun Violence Awareness Month coincided with OVP�s initiative to distribute 60,000 gun safety locks; free, no questions asked.
Below is a cross-section of events OVP participated in with brief descriptions:
June 7: Two OVP staff members participated in a panel discussion on gun violence held at Day One, a Pasadena-based nonprofit dedicated to building healthy, vibrant communities across the San Gabriel Valley.
June 8: Beverly Hills � Wear Orange Event: OVP partnered with Moms Demand Action gun violence survivor and volunteer advocate, Farideh Arianpour, to recognize the many lives lost to senseless gun violence, including her son�s. Participants created their own advocacy posters and participated in a healing drum circle.
June 8: Wear Orange � Gun Violence Awareness Month Event: Hosted by Moms Demand Action and City of West Covina. OVP distributed gun safety materials.
Mid to Late June: �OVP provided gun locks to its contract partners of Regional Violence Prevention Coalition (RVPC) and Trauma Prevention Initiative (TPI) Street Outreach and Community Violence Intervention (SOCVI) to distribute through their daily activities.
June 15: Attended and distributed free gun locks at the Palmdale LA County Sheriff Station gun buyback event. Participants drove through to trade their firearms, firearm parts, and or ammunition - working or not and no questions asked- for gift cards to various local stores and restaurants valued up to $300.
June 18: Presentation on OVP gun safety efforts to Cal State University, Northridge, nursing students.
June 20: Distributed free gun locks at LA CARE Gun Violence Survivor Dialogue and Resource fair in Lynwood. Participants heard from a mother who lost her son to gun violence and a student activist who volunteers to raise awareness and support other student groups about gun violence prevention.
June 26: �Presented on OVP gun safety efforts to the Association of Rural Town Councils in Antelope Valley.
June 28: Attended the LA CARE Community Health and Resource Fair in Wilmington. Participants engaged in a rock painting activity with a gun safety and hope and healing theme. Participants picked up several resources about actions they can take, such as registering to vote and talking to other parents about secure gun storage prior to play dates. OVP distributed gun safety locks at the event.
June 29: Gun safety workshop in Monterey Park sponsored by Congressmember Judy Chu. The event took place in a community that is still experiencing trauma from a mass shooting that occurred there in January 2023. OVP presenters talked about the importance of keeping firearms in the home locked and unloaded to help prevent unintentional injuries and deaths � which mostly affect children and adolescents � from gun violence. The Office also distributed dozens of free gun locks at the workshop.
Throughout June � OVP rolled out several public messages via billboard and bus advertisement, social media, news outlets about gun violence prevention, normalizing gun safety conversations, distribution of free gun locks at 11 county sites (DHS & County Libraries), and Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs). These messages were also formatted and shared as digital banners and messages with county workforce members via employee portals.
Every year, Gun Violence Awareness Month put a focus one of the most intractable problems of American society, which claims thousands of lives annually. It�s incumbent on all of us to continue that same level of commitment each day, for ourselves and for our families.
Photo by John McCoy
OVP to Distribute 60,000 Gun Locks; Free, No Questions Asked
On Tuesday, April 2, the Department of Public Health�s Office of Violence Prevention publicly launched an initiative to help prevent the devastating impact of gun violence including the tragedy of unintentional shootings � which disproportionately affect children � and gun suicides. As part of the initiative, OVP will be distributing 60,000 gun locks; free, no questions asked.
The locks, educational materials and community resources are available through this Gun Lock Request Form and six County medical facilities: Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, High Desert Regional Health Center, Los Angeles General Medical Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center, Olive View � UCLA Medical Center, and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center.
�Far too many families have experienced the terrible pain of losing a child or teen-ager to gun violence,� said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the Department of Public Health. �In a number of these cases, the simple act of locking and safely storing firearms would have prevented a tragedy.�
Dr. Ferrer was joined by several speakers at Rancho Los Amigos for the official, public kickoff of the gun lock distribution program, including Dr. Shannon Thyne, Director of Pediatrics for the L.A. County Department of Health Services, and two survivors of gun violence.
A total of 13 gun safety and community organizations participated in a resource fair at Rancho Los Amigos following the end of the formal ceremony.
Distribution of gun locks is part of OVP�s comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence in our communities, which includes developing the 40-point Gun Violence Prevention Platform, providing education about various restraining orders, supporting federal and state gun safety legislation, a school safety initiative, and partnering with health care providers on discussing safe storage with their patients.
OVP has allocated the entire $25 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that it received in 2022 as part of the County�s COVID-19 plan to support violence prevention, intervention and healing services and programs. A total of 56 grants were distributed to community-based organizations across Los Angeles County dedicated to preventing all forms of violence. OVP partnered with the California Community Foundation (CCF) in awarding the grants.
The ARPA funding represents the largest federal grant to OVP in history. The funds are intended to prevent violence incidents, implement crisis response when violent incidents occur, address factors contributing to gang and gun violence, increase access to trauma-informed care and healing-centered services, and invest in upstream youth programs, youth engagement, and youth leadership opportunities across Los Angeles County.
�We are grateful to the Biden administration for including violence prevention and intervention as a key component of COVID-19 recovery and to the Board of Supervisors for allocating these funds to the Office of Violence Prevention,� said Andrea Welsing, OVP Director.
Youth Suicide and Suicide Attempts in Los Angeles County
The Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention has released a new report, �Youth Suicide and Suicide Attempts in Los Angeles County,� which highlights suicide and suicide attempt data among Los Angeles County youth ages 10-24 between 2016 and 2020. The report includes general demographics, methods most frequently used, and suicide trends during the five-year period. The report also briefly overviews reported suicides and attempts during 2020, with the acknowledgment that there is still much more to understand about this unprecedented time. The report concludes with links to prevention resources that reduce stigma and normalize mental health as an integral component of health and wellbeing.
OVP supports the County�s LA vs. Hate Initiative led by the Human Relations Commission in collaboration with community partners.
LA vs Hate is a community-centered creative campaign to encourage and support all residents of Los Angeles County to unite against, report, and resist hate.
If you are the victim, or witness of, a hate incident or hate crime you can report the incident/crime with 211 LA. Your report is confidential and 211 is not affiliated with law enforcement.
OVP Early Implementation Strategic Plan
After extensive review and input, the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) Early Implementation Strategic Plan was adopted by the County Leadership Committee and Community Partnership Council in September 2020. Read more about OVP Early Implementation Strategic Plan here.
The OVP Strategic Plan is a live document and we welcome your ongoing feedback, specifically as it pertains to our priorities, goals, objectives and strategies. Please provide your input by sending an email to [email protected] or email Andrea Welsing, OVP Director, directly at [email protected]. We hope you will provide your thoughts, comments and recommendations for the Strategic Plan and that you will continue to be part of our violence prevention and healing efforts as we work together to advance strategies to prevent violence and promote healing.
DPH Director's Message on Racism
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director, Dr. Barbara Ferrer,
acknowledges that addressing law enforcement violence and racism are core to public health.
