On March 11, Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I. 1) secured $311,000 in federal Community Project Funding for Providence’s Nonviolence Institute. The funds will support “three victim advocates and a case manager who will provide crisis intervention, home visits and long-term support for victims,” according to Amo’s press release.
The grant is part of $11 million in federal funding that Amo previously obtained in January for projects across his congressional district.
The institute has an “ongoing collaboration” with Brown University Health, Megan Mack — the hospital system’s director of clinical social work — stated in the press release. The organization’s outreach and victim services teams worked with Rhode Island Hospital in the immediate aftermath of the Dec. 13 shooting.
“The institute has been at the frontline of helping Rhode Island recover after the shootings at Brown University, the Lynch Arena and countless other incidents,” Amo stated in the press release.
He added that he looks “forward to seeing this investment make a real difference in supporting safety, protecting victims and starting the process of renewal and restoration when our community is impacted by violence.”
Lisa Pina-Warren, executive director of the institute, told The Herald that the organization’s victim advocates “respond 24/7, 365 days a year to community violence.”
She added that calls the institute receives are referred directly from the police, Rhode Island Hospital or Brown University Health.
According to Pina-Warren, the institute’s victim advocates provide a number of services — from “giving a person a cup of water” to “sitting with them silently” to “gathering information” from hospital staff, social workers and police. In cases that include a homicide, they provide assistance that ranges from victims’ compensation, funeral arrangements and connections to grief counseling.
Advocates also help arrested individuals “throughout the legal process,” which could include attending court for arraignments and trials.
“We never close a case,” Pina-Warren said. She explained that the institute remains connected with the victim and family until they choose to end the relationship.
Mack, who oversees the social work departments at all Brown University Health affiliates, told The Herald that the Rhode Island Hospital works “very collaboratively with the Nonviolence Institute.”
The institute has “a group of outreach workers who will respond following any incidents of violent crime,” Mack said, noting that they were “on site very quickly following” the Dec. 13 mass shooting.
She added that Rhode Island Hospital’s social workers “will contact the Nonviolence Institute when there is an incident that requires their support.”
In an email to The Herald, Kristy dosReis, Providence’s chief public information officer for public safety, wrote that “the Providence Police Department works closely with the Nonviolence Institute as part of (their) community policing approach.”
DosReis wrote that, “while Providence police officers focus on securing the scene, investigating the incident and ensuring public safety,” the institute “provides direct support to those affected by the trauma of violence.”
“Law enforcement agencies cannot address the impacts of violence alone,” she wrote. “These partnerships allow us to take a more holistic approach to public safety.”
Mack emphasized the impact of burnout on outreach workers. “Having more support will hopefully give them the ability to do this work” for longer, she said.
Pina-Warren echoed this sentiment, noting that the hiring of three more victims advocates “really helped because of capacity.”
She said that this funding helps to “make sure that advocates are also being taken care of mentally,” since much of the staff have “lived experience and the secondary trauma gets really heavy.”
“Violence is really not just a medical issue, but one that is really profoundly human,” Mack said.
Annika Melwani is a metro senior staff writer covering state politics and justice. She is from New York City and plans on concentrating in English and International and Public Affairs. In her free time, she can be found reading or drinking an iced vanilla latte.
