Miami-Dade County Juvenile Services Department to host Danish national officials and the City of Philadelphia officials in a peer exchange

MIAMI, June 13, 2023– This week, the Miami-Dade County Juvenile Services Department (JSD) will welcome Danish National officials and City of Philadelphia officials for a visit to observe firsthand the Miami-Dade County Anti-Violence Initiatives (AVI) including Group Violence Intervention (GVI), and the Hospital-based Violence Intervention (HVIP). The site visit will provide an opportunity for collaboration and knowledge exchange between Miami-Dade County, national and international experts on anti-violence programming.

For five days, individuals from the National Network of Safer Communities from Copenhagen and Philadelphia will meet with Miami-Dade Police Department, Miami-Dade County Juvenile Services Department, Ryder Trauma Center, AVI/GVI Program Manager, and other partners.

GVI is a nationally recognized anti-violence strategy designed to reduce group and gun violence in our communities. This model is primarily focused on target areas within unincorporated Miami-Dade County that are highly affected by violence. As part of GVI, supportive services and trauma informed care are offered to victims of gun violence and their families. The implementation of these strategies has seen a considerable reduction of Group Related Homicides   within various areas in Miami-Dade County.

“Miami-Dade County is honored to host public safety professionals from Copenhagen and Philadelphia to showcase the success of our countywide anti-violence initiatives, in the hopes that others can benefit from implementing similar strategies—to help young people build productive lives and strengthen communities,” said County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. “While other major regions saw an increase in gun violence last year, we doubled-down on innovative, successful programs to prevent violence, and now we are proud to have one of the lowest rates of gun violence of any major metro area in the country.”