Cure Violence Global | Anne Arundel County Health Department

Grant Opportunity: Brooklyn Park Violence Interruption Program

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health Gun Violence Interruption Team is now accepting applications for implementation of the Brooklyn Park Violence Interruption Program (VIP) through September 11, 2026. Applicants should refer to the Request for Applications (RFA) for specific submission requirements and deadlines.

Who Is Eligible to Apply?

Any community-based organization that meets the criteria in the Request for Applications.

How is Eligibility Determined?

Proposals will be evaluated by a review panel that includes representatives from Anne Arundel County Government, the Department of Health, Cure Violence Global, and Brooklyn Park community members.

Community-based organizations will be evaluated based on their ability to:

Demonstrate credibility, trust, and strong connections within the Brooklyn Park community.
Recruit, hire, supervise, and support individuals who may have criminal histories or credible relationships with groups involved in conflicts within the target area.
Demonstrate experience managing grants and contracts and completing required programmatic and fiscal reporting.
Demonstrate sufficient organizational capacity to supervise program staff, manage program operations, and provide appropriate fiscal oversight.

Have questions about the Request for Applications (RFA), join us for a pre-bidders informational session on August 24, 2026 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Interested applicants can register via Zoom for the session.

Prospective applicants may submit questions by using this question form. Questions received by August 20 will be prioritized for discussion during the informational session. The question form will remain open through September 4, 2026 for additional RFA-related questions.

Questions submitted after August 20, as well as questions not addressed during the informational session, will receive a response within two business days of submission.

VIEW THE REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS

What is a Violence Interruption Program?

Violence Interruption Programs (VIPs) are an evidence-based strategy for preventing gun violence by identifying and interrupting conflicts before they escalate. VIPs use trusted community members to mediate conflicts, promote nonviolent conflict resolution, connect individuals at highest risk of violence with resources and services, and help change community norms around violence.

The Anne Arundel County Department of Health, County Executive’s Office, and Cure Violence Global (CVG) established the county’s first VIP using the Cure Violence Global (CVG) model in Annapolis in 2024. Since then, violence interruption efforts have expanded to Severn, with an additional site planned for Brooklyn Park.

Violence Interruption in Anne Arundel County

In August 2022, CVG conducted an assessment with partners, stakeholders, and community members in Annapolis. The assessment determined that Annapolis would be well-suited for implementation of a VIP using the Cure Violence model. With funding from the County Executive’s Office, the Department of Health established a pilot site in Eastport. Launched in 2024, Cure Violence Annapolis (CVA) is operated by Kingdom Kare, Inc., in partnership with the local organization A Glimpse of Paradise.

In 2025, CVG conducted an additional assessment to support the transition of the existing ManUp VIP in Severn to the Cure Violence model. The County Executive’s Office funds the Severn program and is also operated by Kingdom Kare, Inc.

From September 11–13, 2024, CVG conducted an assessment in northern Anne Arundel County to evaluate the potential for an additional VIP site. CVG met with partners, stakeholders, and community members in Glen Burnie and Brooklyn Park and determined that these communities would be well-suited for violence interruption efforts. The Department of Health has since secured federal earmark funding to establish a VIP in Brooklyn Park.

Why Violence Interruption is Needed?

Gun violence remains a significant public health issue nationally and locally. More than 44,000 gun deaths were reported in the United States in 2024. Anne Arundel County is not immune. In 2025, the county lost 12 lives to gun homicide and 24 lives to firearm suicide. As of July 2026, five lives have been lost to gun homicide, and 27 to firearm suicide, already surpassing the total number of firearm suicide deaths reported in 2025.

From 2021–2025, an average of 130 Anne Arundel County residents per year were treated at Maryland hospitals for gun-related injuries. Gun-related crimes in the county have also included assaults, robberies, home invasions, threats, contact shootings, and wear, carry, and transport violations.

VIPs complement broader prevention efforts by focusing on individuals and conflicts at highest risk of resulting in violence and connecting participants with resources that address underlying risk factors.

Why Brooklyn Park?

Between 2021 and 2025, Brooklyn Park experienced three gun homicides and 175 other gun-related crimes, including assaults, robberies, and threats.

Black males represented 60% of gun homicide victims and 17% of victims of other gun-related crimes during this period. Adolescents under age 18 represented 10% of victims of both gun homicide and other gun-related crimes.

These data, combined with findings from CVG’s North County assessment and input from community stakeholders, demonstrate the need for targeted violence intervention services in Brooklyn Park.

How does the Program Work?

Existing VIP sites are managed by a dedicated team comprising a Program Manager, Site Supervisor, Violence Interrupters, and Outreach Workers. This staff engages directly with high-risk individuals to mediate conflicts, facilitate access to essential resources, respond to incidents of violence, and foster broader community involvement.

Some of the services provided by the VIP programs are:

Comprehensive youth mentorship and programming.
Direct connection and referrals to vital community services.
Professional interpersonal conflict mediation.
Rapid response to incidents of violence.
Engagement through targeted community events.

These programs receive administrative and financial support and oversight by the Anne Arundel County Department of Health, and receive ongoing training and technical assistance from Cure Violence Global. The Brooklyn Park VIP will adopt this same staffing and operational structure.

Who is Cure Violence Global?

For more than 20 years, Cure Violence Global (CVG) has worked with communities in the United States and internationally to prevent and reduce violence using a public health approach.This approach is grounded in an understanding that violence can resemble an infectious disease. The Cure Violence model also recognizes that violence can spread through social networks and community norms and that it can be prevented by identifying risks, interrupting conflicts, and changing behaviors and norms that contribute to violence.

Through the model, trained Violence Interrupters and Outreach workers identify and mediate potentially violent conflicts, work to prevent retaliation following shootings, engage individuals at highest risk of violence, and connect participants with supportive resources and services. Staff maintain relationships within the community and continue following conflicts as needed to reduce the likelihood of future violence.
CVG provides training and technical assistance to support implementation of the model in Anne Arundel County.

Impact of CVG Nationally:

NYC	Philadelphia	Chicago	Baltimore
63% reduction in shootings and a 50% reduction in gunshot wounds	30% reduction in the rate of shootings	31% reduction in homicides and a 19% reduction in shootings	Reduced killings up to 56% and shootings up to 44%

* This data is specific to neighborhoods where Cure Violence was implemented in New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

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