FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 10, 2026

Contact:
Barry Johnson
Email: [email protected]
Cell: 609-414-8890

End Community Violence Now, Delaware State University to Host 2nd Annual Community Violence Intervention Summit

Set for Tuesday, Oct. 13, the summit will bring together a diverse group of stakeholders to explore evidence-informed strategies that prevent violence and strengthen community safety across Delaware

DOVER – End Community Violence Now (ECVN) and Delaware State University (DSU) have announced that from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, they will host the 2nd annual Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Summit. The CVI Summit will take place at Delaware State University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Center, 1200 N. Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE 19901.

This year’s statewide convening will bring together community leaders, healthcare professionals, researchers, policymakers, law enforcement, funders, and people with lived experience to explore evidence-informed strategies that prevent violence and strengthen community safety. Attendees will be able to hear from keynote speakers and panelists, in addition to participating in interactive sessions, to gain practical skills, build partnerships, and advance collaborative solutions that create safer, healthier communities. Attendees will also be able to participate in a CPR demonstration and earn a Stop the Bleed certification from the Kent County Department of Public Safety.

“Community violence is one of the defining public health and public safety challenges of our time, and it cannot be solved by any single sector working alone,” said ECVN Executive Director Dr. Lauren J. Footman. “This year’s theme — Community Violence Intervention as Critical Infrastructure — reflects a fundamental shift in how we need to think about this work. Safety is built the same way we build any other essential system: through sustained investment, coordination across sectors, and a shared commitment to the communities most affected. That means connecting healthcare, education, workforce development, housing, and mental health into a real continuum of care, and it means recognizing outreach workers, hospital-based interventionists, credible messengers, and community organizations as the frontline professionals they are. It also means listening to young people, survivors, and those with lived experience — not as an afterthought, but as architects of the solutions. Delaware has a real opportunity to lead here. What happens on October 13 isn’t just a convening; it’s another step toward sustaining the statewide ecosystem our communities deserve, one where prevention,

intervention, and healing are treated as essential public infrastructure rather than optional add-ons.”

According to the Delaware Information Analysis Center (DIAC), all three counties saw shooting incidents decline from 2024 to 2025: New Castle County dropped from 204 to 185, Kent County from 69 to 57, and Sussex County from 55 to 49. That pattern held in Sussex County specifically, where homicides fell 30% between 2021 and 2025 — from 10 down to 7 — even as the county still logged 48 shooting incidents in 2025. Early 2026 data offers a further sign of progress: Sussex County recorded 18 shooting incidents between January and June, a pace suggesting the downward trend may be continuing. Taken together, the numbers point to a statewide decline in gun violence, but one uneven enough — and still concentrated enough among young victims — that it will take coordinated response across all three counties to sustain it.

Data from Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund found that gun violence has a disproportionate impact on children and teens of color with Black children and teens being nearly 19 times more likely to die by gun homicide and 13 times more likely to be hospitalized for a firearm assault than their white peers. Furthermore, the impact of gun violence extends far beyond its immediate victims. Young people experience harm when they witness gun violence, when someone they know is a victim, and even when they hear gunshots. Children exposed to gun violence spend less time playing and being physically active, have lower grades and are less likely to graduate, and are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol; suffer from depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder; resort to aggressive and violent behavior; and engage in criminal activity.

This year’s summit will address these concerns and more by focusing on topics including: The Effects of Violence Exposure; Regional Leadership: Strategies Driving Reductions in Community Violence; Integrating Healthcare & Building a Continuum of Care; Workforce Development & Community Safety; and Intersections of Community Violence, Domestic Violence & Community Conditions.

Dr. Dorothy Dillard, the director of the Center for Neighborhood Revitalization and Research and the IHER Center’s Community Engagement Core Lead at Delaware State University points out that “Safety is a vital condition related to physical, mental, and emotional health. It is a key factor of individual wellbeing, community vitality, and equitable systems. The CVI Summit offers an opportunity for us to engage across sectors to create a common understanding of community violence and its impact across Delaware and to work collaboratively to create effective community driven responses.”

The second annual CVI Summit promises to be the next step in building a comprehensive, coordinated and collaborative approach to community safety. It offers something for everyone concerned about and working toward a safer Delaware for all. Additional information, including how to register for End Community Violence Now and Delaware State University’s Community Violence Intervention Summit, can be found online.

###

End Community Violence Now (ECVN) is the state of Delaware’s community-based Office of Violence Prevention. This public-private partnership seeks to break the cycle of violence through coordinated and sustained investments in evidence-based programs. This includes community engagement and education campaigns, policy advocacy, stakeholder strategy, as well as offering technical assistance and grant-making support to local organizations on the ground doing the difficult, but necessary work. ECVN envisions a future where all Delawareans are safe from the rising threat of gun violence.