Healing the Hood

Third-party homicides and gun violence in Sacramento's Black communities reflect decades of disinvestment and lack of access to resources. Black youth face heightened risks due to unsafe neighborhoods, systemic racism and limited economic opportunities.

Healing the Hood (HTH) integrates prevention, intervention and crisis response strategies across BCLC’s seven target neighborhoods to address violence and provide safe, supportive environments for Black youth.

The initiative embeds trained Crisis Intervention Workers (CIWs) into local infrastructure, partnering with hospitals, schools and law enforcement. HTH follows a three-tiered model:

Tier 1

Prevention

Tier 2

Intervention for youth engaged in violence

Tier 3

Crisis response for active gun violence cases

Third-Party Homicide

Impact

  • Contributed to a countywide youth homicide rate of zero in 2019
  • Firearm assaults in target neighborhoods dropped by 19% from 2016 to 2024
  • Disparities narrowed with a 29% decrease in firearm assaults