City of Richmond issues call for violence prevention strategy proposals
By Globe Staff
Mayor Irma Anderson and the Richmond City Council have acknowledged the need for a sustained, coordinated effort involving multiple city departments and various outside agencies to address the problem of chronic violence in the community.
To carry out this effort, the mayor and council authorized the creation of the position of Violence Prevention Coordinator within the city manager’s office to develop and oversee a strategic plan and to facilitate service efforts with other governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations.
In keeping with the mayor and council’s emphasis on violence prevention utilizing the public health model that has been successful in other parts of the country, the Request For Qualifications (RFQ) calls for qualifying individuals, organizations or collaborations to map the available array of services and programs in the areas of prevention, intervention and suppression; identify additional funding opportunities, both locally and nationally; and identify measurement criteria and appropriate outcomes for an integrated violence prevention strategy.
“We have received proposal after proposal to fund individual programs to address violence prevention,” said Anderson, “but it would be irresponsible to implement individual programs until we can fit those programs into an integrated and seamless public health strategy that identifies the specific outcomes we seek.”
The RFQ is open to individuals, organizations and collaborations for response and is available on the city’s Web site at www.ci.richmond.ca.us. A mandatory pre-submittal meeting is scheduled for April 11 in the City Council chambers.
The deadline for submissions is 4 p.m. on April 21.
