Safer Communities Programs

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has placed a high priority on creating safer communities through supporting violence prevention and intervention programs. Millersville University partners with federal, state, and local entities to collaboratively implement research projects, creating safer communities with a focus on trauma-informed practices.

Partner Organizations

Pennsylvania Dept. of Human Services, OMHSAS Info | Department of Human Services | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The goal of OMHSAS is to transform the children's behavioral health system to a system that is family and youth guided, implement services and policies to support recovery and resiliency in the adult behavioral health system, and assure that behavioral health services and supports recognize and accommodate the unique needs of older adults.

Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) serves as the justice planning and policymaking agency for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. By bringing together a wide range of experts in the fields of criminal and juvenile justice, victim services, and related professions, PCCD coordinates the collective examination of problems, proposes solutions, and evaluates the impact of those solutions.

Heal PA is a multisector, multidisciplinary coalition developed and sponsored by the Governor's Office of Advocacy and Reform (OAR). The coalition is organized into a variety of diverse action teams focused on implementing the Trauma-Informed PA Plan.
Research and Resources

Community Health Workers Research

A Strategy to Address Systemic Racism and Violence as Public Health Priorities: Training and Supporting Community Health Workers to Advance Equity and Violence Prevention (apha.org)

Trauma-Informed Resources

HHS, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation: Trauma-Informed Approaches Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice to Build Resilience in Children and Families

SAMHSA, Practical Guide for Implementing a Trauma-Informed Approach

Prevention Institute's Adverse Community Experiences and Resilience (preventioninstitute.org)

Violent Crime Reduction Roadmap | Action 7. Emphasize healing with trauma-informed approaches. | Office of Justice Programs (ojp.gov)

U.S. Dept. of Justice's Vicarious Trauma Organizational Readiness Guide for Victim Services (ojp.gov)

On Being podcast Bessel van der Kolk - Trauma and Resilience Land in Our Bodies | Bessel van der Kolk | The On Being Project

Gun Violence Data and Resources

Gun Violence in the United States 2022 (jhu.edu)

HHS, Office of the Surgeon General: Firearm Violence in America | HHS.gov

Pennsylvania Dept. of Health, Enterprise Data Dissemination Informatics Exchange (EDDIE)

Everytown for Gun Safety, State and County Firearm Deaths and Injury Data

Pennsylvania Dept. of Health, Pennsylvania Violent Death Reporting System (PA-VDRS) VDRS (pa.gov)

PCCD/IUD, Cost of Non-fatal Firearm Injuries in Pennsylvania https://www.pccd.pa.gov/criminaljustice/GunViolence/Documents/Cost_of_Nonfatal_Firearm_Injuries_in_Pennsylvania_2016-2021.pdf

Pennsylvania State Police, Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) System Home (pa.gov)

Community Violence Intervention (CVI) and Prevention Resources

SAMHSA's Violence Prevention Resources | SAMHSA

U.S. Dept. of Justice's COMMUNITY BASED VIOLENCE INTERVENTION AND PREVENTION INITIATIVE IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST (ojp.gov)

U.S. Dept. of Justice's webinar Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Webinar Series: Evidence-based Theory and Research on CVI - YouTube

U.S. Dept. of Justice's webinar Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Webinar Series: Place-based Approaches to CVI (youtube.com)

U.S. Dept. of Justice's webinar Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Webinar Series Part 3:
CVI in Practice Part 3 Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Webinar Series: CVI In Practice - YouTube

U.S. Dept. of Justice's webinar Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Webinar Series Part 4: Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Webinar Series: Community-Centered Evaluation (youtube.com)
Program Staff

The Safer Communities Program is housed in the Division of University Relations and Strategic Initiatives. Program staff includes:

Denise Muller, M.P.H., M.A. – Program Director, Safer Communities
Phone: 717-871-4085 | | Denise.Muller@millersville.edu

Victor DeSantis, Ph.D. - Principal Investigator, Vice President for University Relations and Strategic Initiatives
Phone: 717-871-5955 | |Victor.DeSantis@millersville.edu