Overview
The overall objective of this study is to implement and test a strengths-based, community-driven intervention to reduce gun violence by (1) improving housing stability through providing financial assistance coupled with comprehensive financial education for the re-entry population as well as their family members, and (2) fostering greater support for mental health by training a trusted network of community members in trauma-informed counseling.
Description
Proposed is a type I hybrid effectiveness/implementation study using a neighborhood-level, stepped-wedge trial design across six primarily Black/Latinx, socially vulnerable neighborhoods in New Haven. Residents of each neighborhood who have been affected by incarceration (i.e., currently have a family member incarcerated or a person returning to the community from prison within the last 12 months) will be eligible for our intervention for a period of 6 months. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) implementation science frameworks will be used to measure and track processes in achieving outcomes. A mixed methods approach will be used, primarily the use of quantitative methods for this study, along with qualitative focus groups will be conducted to assess some implementation outcomes. The primary outcome, rates of gun violence at the neighborhood level, are obtained from administrative data. Survey data will be collected for some implementation process measures (e.g., assessing acceptability and appropriateness of the intervention).
Eligibility
All residents in the study neighborhoods are eligible for outcome assessment. For the intervention component of housing support, the below inclusion and exclusion criteria apply.
Inclusion criteria:
- Age 18 or above
- Family member currently incarcerated or person returning from prison within the last 12 months
- Live in one of the six neighborhoods with highest rates of gun violence in New Haven, Connecticut
Exclusion criteria:
- Plans to leave the study area within 1 year