Attitudes on Guns: Louisville, Kentucky's Experience in Changing Community Violence Norms

• In Event: Guns, Gangs, and Community Interventions

Abstract

The city of Louisville, Kentucky, has experienced homicide rates exceeding one hundred annually over the past five years, reaching nearly 640 total victims of gun violence. The city recently implemented a community violence intervention program with an understanding that gun violence is a crisis to public health. As part of the gun violence reduction initiative, violence interventionists (VIs) serve the community as conflict mediators. VIs serve as credible messengers that often come from similarly situated neighborhoods where the project is being implemented. The purpose of the study is to investigate the extent to which the CVI project diminishes community attitudes towards the violent use of guns. Using a two wave pre/post assessment, young males residing in one of Louisville’s most violent crime neighborhoods were surveyed to determine whether community norms changed. Preliminary results will be discussed.

Authors

• Jerome Williams, Office of Violence Prevention - Louisville Metro Government

• Claire Tallmon, Office of Violence Prevention- Louisville Metro Government

• Ivan Benitez, Office of Violence Prevention - Louisville Metro Government

• Cate Schanie, Office of Violence Prevention - Louisville Metro Government