NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi Receives $25,000 In New York State Funding for Stand Up to Violence (SUV) Program
New York State Assembly Member Emerita Torres awarded NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi’s Stand Up to Violence (SUV) program with funds allocated to strengthen gun violence interruption, prevention, and community engagement services in the Bronx Over the last nine years, the Bronx community served by SUV has experienced a 58% decline in gunshot wound incidence
Dec 23, 2025
NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi announced today that it has received $25,000 in New York State funding awarded by New York State Assembly Member Emerita Torres (D-Bronx, 85th District) to strengthen its Stand Up to Violence (SUV) program. SUV is one of the public health care system’s five Hospital-based Violence Interruption Programs (HVIP), and seeks to address the gun violence crisis in the Bronx by providing interruption, prevention, and community engagement services to impacted communities. The Bronx has seen how the effects of gun violence has historically impacted the community, with an increase of youth who are impacted by gun-violence, especially youth of color.
“There is evidence-based research that shows that ‘gun violence interrupters’, of Stand Up to Violence, are doing the work and it’s proven to work,” said New York State Assembly Member Emerita Torres. “My number one goal is for safer communities, safer neighborhoods, and better outcomes for Bronx families, so investing in prevention will reduce long term costs to the health care system, emergency response, and the justice system.”
“Thanks to the leadership and funding secured by New York State Assembly Member Emerita Torres, we’re proud to say that since the SUV program’s inception, we’ve seen an overall 58% decrease in violence and shootings in targeted areas,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi CEO Chris Mastromano. “This support is helping us achieve real, measurable reductions in gun violence in our communities. We treat violence as the public health issue that it is, it’s a disease, and these are the disease experts.”
“This check represents more than financial assistance—it represents lives saved, futures protected, and a shared belief that gun violence is preventable,” said Stand Up to Violence Program Director Carjah Dawkins-Hamilton. “The impact of our work for victims, their families, and communities continues long after the headlines fade.”
NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi provides patients who have experienced violent-related trauma with integrated care through a team of multidisciplinary experts, including physicians, social workers, hospital responders, and community outreach workers, to treat gun violence in the same way that we treat disease. While the hospital is able to provide direct care to patients who are impacted, Jacobi Hospital’s the Stand Up to Violence program helps to prevent and intervene in disputes across the Bronx in an effort to decrease the impacts of gun-violence in the community.
A 2023 peer-reviewed study found that patients with violent trauma who were seen by the Stand Up to Violence (SUV) team at Jacobi Hospital were more than two times more likely to attend over half their scheduled clinical follow up visits and 59% less likely to come back reinjured within three months of discharge. In addition, the Bronx community served by SUV has experienced a 58% decline in gunshot wound incidence over the past nine years.
The funding awarded by Assembly Member Emerita Torres provides critical resources to respond to the ongoing crisis more effectively and equitably. The funds will help expand outreach across high-need areas, targeting those who are at the highest risk for experiencing gun violence, and connecting the community to services that can help them achieve long-term stability, such as support for mental health and pathways for employment.
Stand Up to Violence is the first hospital-based community violence prevention initiatives in the state of New York, created to help improve patient outcomes for those who have experienced violent-related trauma and prevention through a public health approach that treats gun violence as a disease. Methods and strategies used by a multidisciplinary team who works together to decrease the effects of gun violence in the community.
Those in need of Jacobi Hospital’s supportive services for violent-related trauma can call Stand Up to Violence at (718)-975-6312.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Catherine Diaz, NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi | North Central Bronx, 718-918-4879
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About NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi
NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi is a 457-bed teaching hospital affiliated with the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The facility has earned numerous Center of Excellence designations, accreditation, and recognition for its renowned Level 1 Trauma Center, Burn Center, Surgical Intensive Care Unit, regional Stroke Center, Snakebite Treatment Center, Breast Health Center, Bariatric Surgery Center, and Cancer Service. The facility also offers the region’s only multi-person hyperbaric chamber, allowing up to nine patients to dive together at one time. Jacobi Hospital’s Ambulatory Care Pavilion is a stunning complement to its inpatient acute care, allowing staff to provide patients with high-quality service in a modern, state-of-the-art environment. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/jacobi.
About NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx
NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx is a member facility of the NYC Health + Hospitals system, one of eleven acute care facilities within the City of New York. A 215-bed community hospital, North Central Bronx Hospital specializes in women’s and children’s services. It also provides Behavioral Health acute and ambulatory care. Its busy outpatient department has led the way in community-based care delivered in a compassionate and culturally-appropriate manner. Its Labor and Delivery service safely brings more than 1,000 babies into the world each year. North Central Bronx Hospital is committed to providing safe, high-quality medical care for any and all in need. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/north-central-bronx.
About NYC Health + Hospitals
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest municipal health care system in the nation serving more than a million New Yorkers annually in more than 70 patient care locations across the city’s five boroughs. A robust network of outpatient, neighborhood-based primary and specialty care centers anchors care coordination with the system’s trauma centers, nursing homes, post-acute care centers, home care agency, and MetroPlusHealth—all supported by 11 essential hospitals. Its diverse workforce of more than 46,000 employees is uniquely focused on empowering New Yorkers, without exception, to live the healthiest life possible. For more information, visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org and stay connected on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.