Our annual report provides a comprehensive overview of the work we have done between September 2021 and June 2022 to reduce crime and prevent violence in our community. It highlights our key initiatives, programs, and partnerships, as well as the impact we have made on the lives of individuals and families. We are proud to share this report with you as a way of demonstrating our commitment to making a difference and creating a brighter future for all. We hope that through reading our annual report, you will gain a greater understanding of the important role that Shaphat Outreach plays in our community and be inspired to join us in our efforts to create a safer, healthier, and more equitable society.
SHAPHAT OUTREACH
Annual Impact Report
September 2021 - June 2022
About
Shaphat Outreach (pronounced “shaw-fat”) provides comprehensive outreach and wrap-around supportive services to individuals as an opportunity for them to make alternative choices, reduce violence in their gang member culture, and consider exiting the gang culture. Shaphat Outreach launched the No Shots Fired (NSF) program in collaboration with the San Diego Police Department and certified community-based public safety professionals. NSF focuses primarily on gun violence prevention, core intervention, tertiary deterrence, and hospital-based violence intervention and injury reduction in order to
mitigate gang violence. Another portion of NSF is a 12-18 month interactive journaling
cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) process to establish goals, objectives and a life
trajectory plan. Participants learn how to challenge and change their own self-talk and practice decision-making and problem-solving skills. This process ultimately facilitates high-risk behavioral change and presents the No Shots Fired team the opportunity to detect and interrupt planned violent activity and change community norms.
A Letter From Bishop Bowser
Thank you to all of our partners and supporters who have helped Shaphat Outreach prevent gun violence throughout San Diego County. Our primary goal is to prevent gun violence related to gangs, peer groups, and individuals as a community-based public safety organization. Our successful intervention efforts include engaging with our community through invasive outreach by conducting hardcore interventions, delivering equitable
services, and collaborating with public safety agencies to bring healing to our communities. Our gun violence reduction strategy focuses on people, places, and behaviors most at risk of engaging in gun violence. Our approach to reducing gun violence is proactive and strategic. We engage with the highest-risk populations to prevent and interrupt violence when needed and deter it when possible. Research shows that violence leaves a predictable trail. Shaphat Outreach works to identify triggers to help reduce gun violence by giving support and relief to individuals in need. During our Spring of 2022 Season of Peace, we had no gang-related homicides in the two San Diego City Districts we serve. Only one person was shot (with a non-life threatening wound by a gang member in a targeted city district), and we had positive engagement with several hundred gang members. Shaphat Outreach provides expert assistance with specific skill sets to solve challenges. We are certified professionals focusing on violence interdiction, hospital-based violence intervention, and injury
reduction. We look forward to continuing to create safe and vibrant communities with all our partners well into the future!
Sincerely,
Bishop Cornelius Bowser
CEO/Founder, Shaphat Outreach
Supportive Services
Shaphat Outreach offers a variety of support services that assist with an individual’s transition from gang-life culture. These services include responses to shootings, mentoring, gang disruption and interruption, peace agreements, and cognitive behavioral therapy interactions. In addition, Shaphat Outreach’s No Shots Fired program has cumulatively offered and gained success in 88 services.
Seasons of Peace
In efforts to encourage decreases in gun violence, No Shots Fired designates specific times during the year called “Seasons of Peace,” where lived-experience experts will approach those in gangs to determine a contractual agreement to a period of no gun shots fired. During this time, a variety of activities take place, including panel discussions about violence, peace meals, street side memorial services and community-based promotional events. The first inaugural Season of Peace took place was from March 19 through April 15, 2022 and
received successful community participation. The next Season of Peace has launched on July 4, 2022 and will go through Labor Day Weekend.
Inter-Agency Collaboration
Shaphat Outreach is working with schools, organizations and other agencies to support and offer mentorship to youth who are at-risk of experiencing gang activity (gun violence, family violence, etc.).
Referral Partnerships:
San Diego County Probation
San Diego Police Department
San Diego Job Corps
NCRC’s Juvenile Diversion Initiative
City Attorney/Public Defender’s Office/Judges
San Diego Unified
Learn4Life
Bell Middle School (Pending)
Highlights:
17 services in response to shootings (CBT Interactions)
The Shaphat Outreach team has received 29 shooting notifications from SDPD and provides
responses, such as visiting the hospitals of the victims, going out to the scene of the crime to
provide support, reaching out to impacted families to offer support and prevent retaliation. These services also included the meetings with gang members in the community to de-escalate violent actions.
Several gang members have agreed to leave the gangs and are getting ready for job interviews to jump start their careers.
29 basic street support/ mentoring/wraparound (CBT Interactions)
Cumulatively, Shaphat Outreach has provided mentorship and wrap-around supportive services to 29 individuals. This mentorship includes non-traditional CBT tactics as an attempt to provide preventative support from entering gang-life activity.
Shaphat Outreach has increased patrolling San Diego neighborhoods to 4-5 nights per week.
46 gang disruption interactions (CBT Interactions)
Shaphat Outreach has made 46 interactions with gang members about potential conflicts. Shaphat Outreach provides de-escalation strategies and support to shift gang members away from taking violent actions.
Recently, Shaphat Outreach mediated and de-escalated tensions between the gang sets surrounding the Caleb Stacey murder.
1 Peace Agreement (Separate from Seasons of Peace)
A component of NSF is to achieve peace agreements amongst certain members within specific gangs throughout their outreach interactions, which means no crossing territories, starting violence, tagging graffiti, etc. This activity is separate from No Shots Fired’s Seasons of Peace and the Shaphat Outreach team has successfully achieved one peace agreement to date.
Multiple gang sets are in talks about putting their guns down and brokering peace agreements as we are approaching the new Season of Peace.
19 Interactive Journaling group sessions (Clients who are enrolled in CBT classes)
As form of cognitive behavioral therapy, Shaphat Outreach offers Interactive Journaling Group Sessions to 7 participants who have agreed to participate in one of the components of NSF.
An active gang member recently approached Bishop Bowser and said he was interested his gang intervention and therapy work after he saw it on social media.
114 outreach activities
Activities include Seasons of Peace (planning meetings, marketing to gangs, panels, peace meal, dialogue with community members), neighborhood walks, SDPD referral calls, meetings with community partners, networking at events for the purpose of developing relationships with community partners, connecting with local rappers/artists to get a further reach into communities, street outreach prevention planning and attending memorial
services.
Commentaires