414LIFE Releases New Phase 2 Evaluation Report
Since 2017, the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership’s (MHCP) Plan Priorities have included violence intervention and prevention as a focus area. Members work alongside public, academic, and community partners to increase violence prevention and intervention efforts in health care settings. This includes supporting positions, like the 414LIFE hospital responders, to address violence through hospital interventions.
414LIFE is a community- and hospital-based violence intervention program of the City of Milwaukee’s Office of Community Wellness and Safety, implemented by the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Comprehensive Injury Center (MCW CIC). The MHCP health systems’ Shared Community Investment Fund (SCIF) directly catalyzed the expansion of this program, supporting two hospital responder positions for two years.
“The initial investment by MHCP supported the expansion of 414LIFE to additional hospitals that treat a high number of gunshot victims in the Milwaukee area. The partnership with MHCP has increased our capacity to deliver life-saving services at a critical opportunity for intervention,” said Reggie Moore, Director of the Division of Community Safety at the CIC at MCW. “We now have 414LIFE hospital responders engaged with three hospitals across Milwaukee County, and MHCP continues to be a valued partner in our efforts to prevent and reduce gun violence in Milwaukee.”
414LIFE recently released the program’s Phase II Evaluation Report. This report covers program activities in 2023 and provides an overview of what the program has been doing, in addition to assessing the extent to which the program has been meeting its goals and objectives.
414LIFE Program Director Lynn Lewis said continuous evaluation is central to the program’s operations. “It helps us understand what’s working well and where we need to adapt,” Lewis said. “We’re proud to be one of the most rigorously evaluated community violence intervention (CVI) programs in the country. Partnering with external evaluators ensures transparency and provides valuable insights for participants, funders, and anyone invested in advancing community safety.”
The report demonstrated some key findings:
- 59 mediations were documented in 2023, with 70% resolved or conditionally resolved.
- 41 new case management participants, based on priority populations at risk of gun violence, were added to the community program in 2023.
- Majority of program participants surveyed after working with 414LIFE indicated they could avoid getting into fights or confrontations, use options and methods to resolve a conflict other than violence, and are able to make a non-violent choice even when disrespected.
- 269 new referrals were made to the hospital program in 2023, the majority of whom were a resident of Milwaukee or were injured in Milwaukee, and the majority were injured by a firearm.
- Less than 3% of hospital referrals returned to Froedtert Hospital for another firearm injury within 2 years of initial referral to the program.
- Students participating in Restoration of Consciousness workshops in Milwaukee Public Schools felt more able to use non-violent conflict resolution methods, be a peaceful person, and be a positive influence/role model after participating in the program.
In addition to sharing analyses from program data, the evaluation also outlined recommendations for 414LIFE to consider as the program continues evolving. Those recommendations center on the following topics across Phase I and Phase II:
#1 – Enhance outward communication.
#2 – Clarify and further document aspects of program implementation (and operations).
#3 – Re-evaluate expectations of frontline staff positions.
#4 – Update program services to reflect participant-reported needs.
Read the full report at 414lLIFE Phase 2 Evaluation. The program’s first evaluation is accessible at Phase 1 Evaluation Report for 414LIFE.
Learn more about 414LIFE by contacting Lynn Lewis, program director, at vlewis@mcw.edu or by visiting their web page.
For questions or comments about the report, please contact Dr. Constance Kostelac at ckostelac@mcw.edu or Dr. Amber Brandolino at abrandolino@mcw.edu.
MHCP Shared Community Investment Fund
The MHCP Shared Community Investment Fund (SCIF) is an annual fund made possible by contributions from the health system members of the MHCP – Aurora Health Care, Ascension Wisconsin, Children’s Wisconsin, and Froedtert Health. The SCIF was created in 2007 to support the mission of the MHCP—to improve health care for low-income, underserved populations in Milwaukee County with the aim of improving health outcomes, advancing health equity, and lowering the total cost of care.