HCPH’s newest pilot, the Hospital-Linked Violence Interruption Program, launched Nov. 1 in unincorporated Harris County, including ZIP code 77090, which covers Cypress Station.
According to an HCPH news release, the program aims to help survivors of violence heal from their resulting trauma, and the areas designated for the program were selected based on data from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the Houston Police Department and HCPH.
“We’re going to ... work with these residents and their families and get them connected to the services ... so that they can have long-term sustainable healing,” said Lupe Washington, director of HCPH’s Community Health and Violence Prevention Services division. “We’re also hoping to prevent any forms of retaliation that may happen.”
Cypress Station is a hot spot for violent crime, HCSO Maj. Thomas Diaz said.
“We’re talking about gun-related crimes, things of that nature, robberies. ... One of the big drivers that’s kind of overlooked, historically, has been the increase in family violence in these areas,” Diaz said.
According to HCSO crime data for a 1-mile area in the center of Cypress Station, officers responded to 33,436 calls from November 2021-November 2022, which equals about 92 calls per day. Of the calls made in that time period, about 295 were for family assault; 232 were for aggravated assault; 90 were for robberies; and 66 were for sexual assault of adults or children.
The hospital-linked program is a coordinated effort between HCPH’s CHVPS division and HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest. The program offers nonmedical support to victims of gunshot or stabbing violence or aggravated assaults to address the social and mental impacts on survivors, according to the news release.
As of Nov. 15, program officials have met with five victims at the hospital who meet the program’s criteria—victims of violence, such as gunshots, stabbings or aggravated assaults. Washington said this program is vital because 50% of victims of this type of violence will end up in the hospital for similar injuries within five years.
The violence interruption program is being funded by $6 million dedicated to the program by Harris County commissioners in 2021 from the county’s general fund, Washington said.
During the last two years, HCSO has also been working to address the violence in unincorporated Harris County through “community problem-oriented policing,” which includes crime analysis and proactive policing efforts, Diaz said.
“It’s a multipronged effort to address violent crime problems that are occurring in ... unincorporated Harris County,” Diaz said.
In March, HCPH launched two other anti-violence pilot programs for a total of $11 million in Cypress Station and other parts of unincorporated Harris County: the Holistic Assistance Response Team and the Community Violence Interruption Program. As of Nov. 5, Washington estimated the teams for these programs have responded to over 1,400 calls in nonviolent emergency cases.
“We understand that when the HART team responds to these nonviolent calls, it allows our law enforcement partners ... more time to respond to more pressing matters and in instances that do involve violence,” Washington said.
