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Mission Statement The mission of the Partnership is to prevent and reduce the frequency of violent injuries and deaths throughout the state of Indiana. Comprehensive Vision Statement The Partnership is a statewide multi-disciplinary effort to address violent injury and death in all populations and from a public health perspective. A violent death includes a death caused by homicide, suicide, or firearm, regardless of the manner in which it occurs. A violent injury is physical harm from the same underlying causes as the above, however death does not occur. The aim of the Partnership is to facilitate development of a coordinated, unified strategy, and to decrease violent injuries and deaths through the use of data collection, research, education and law reform. The Partnership facilitates collaboration and information sharing among various groups including health care, law enforcement, legal, human services, policy making, and secular and faith based community organizations. Major Sponsors 
History The Indiana Partnership to Prevent Firearm Violence was founded in 1999 by Dr. Marilyn Bull, MD at Riley Hospital for Children. She saw the need to address the issue of firearm-related injuries and deaths since Indiana’s rate of death from guns was highest among the Midwest states, and higher than the nation as a whole. The Partnership was established after receiving funding from The Joyce Foundation through 2004. In 2000, The Partnership contracted with the IU Center for survey Research in Bloomington to field a random, statewide, telephone survey related to firearm injury prevention policy measures, which mirrored a national survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago. Responses indicated wide support for firearm legislative and policy efforts such as background checks at gun shows, child access prevention laws, and other such safety measures. The survey was repeated in 2004 with similar results reported. The survey results were distributed to all Indiana legislators. In 2001, collaborative agreements were formed with Indianapolis Police Department (IPD), Marion County Sheriff’s Department, Marion County Coroner's Office and three level-one trauma centers in Indianapolis. All agreed to supply relevant firearm injury and death data in the Partnership’s effort to establish it’s “violent injury and death surveillance system,” the most comprehensive collection of information surrounding the shootings that occur in Marion County. The Partnership released its first full report of the data surveillance system in 2003, detailing the circumstances surrounding the firearm injuries and deaths that occurred in 2002 in Marion County. The data provides information such as where the shooting occurs, when the shooting occurs, where the body was injured, and whether or not the person is hospitalized (inpatient vs outpatient). In 2005, The Partnership changed its name to Indiana Partnership to Prevent Violent Injury and Death to expand research and education related to homicides and suicides and all underlying causes and to position itself for a national data collection effort, the National Violent Death Reporting System. The Partnership received its first Spiritual Values Grant from Clarian Health Partners to educate faith-based leaders about firearm injury and suicide prevention. Over two years, the Partnership held three conferences at Christian Theological Seminary with a total attendance of 250 faith leaders representing 34 faith traditions. Evaluation of the conferences indicated that overall, faith leaders are receptive to learning more about these issues, are better able to recognize and intervene with those at risk for firearm injury or suicide, and are more informed about community resources related to these issues. Project highlights and evaluation results were accepted for presentation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual spring meeting in Denver in 2005, the American Public Health Association meeting in Philadelphia in December 2005, and at the American Association of Suicidology national meeting in Seattle in April 2006. In 2007, the Partnership began expanding its data collection to include sexual assault events. The Partnership collaborated with the Center of Hope to collect and analyze sexual assault data to better determine trends and prevention strategies. The Partnership collaborated with the Marion County Crime Lab to collect and analyze crime lab data to determine the type of weapon used in shootings that occur in Marion County. The Partnership secured its second Spiritual Values Grant from Clarian Health Partners to continue its faith-based educational efforts. Domestic Violence prevention was the focus for three conferences held at Christian Theological Seminary over two years. Over 220 faith leaders from 40 faith traditions attended the conferences, and the project highlights and evaluation results were accepted for presentation at the National Injury and Violence Prevention Research Conference held in in Atlanta, Georgia in 2009. In 2009, the Partnership began a rebranding campaign in order to garner renewed media attention to its mission, which remains critical to the state. A new logo and a new name, the Indiana Violence Prevention Partnership, will be unveiled at a ten-year anniversary media and educational event to take place in the fall of the year. The Indiana Suicide Prevention Coalition receives funding from SAMSHA to establish a youth suicide prevention technical assistance center. As part of this project, the Partnership will provide the national, evidenced-based program entitled, “CALM,” (Counsel Against Lethal Means) to multi-disciplinary audiences throughout the state over a period of three years. |
Copyright 2001-2009 Indiana Violence Prevention Partnership