For some years now, Cure Violence has been top of mind for those interested in ways to reduce violence in communities that struggle mightily with this issue. Similar to ROCA, Inc., Cure Violence meets young people where they are, establishing relationships of trust, shaping norms and attitudes, and intervening to head off problems before they escalate. Evidence suggests that when the Cure Violence model is adopted as prescribed, rates of violence decline significantly. We spoke with their Director of Science and Policy, Charles Ransford, about how and why Cure Violence interventions work and what this has meant for communities that have benefited from this model.
Charlie Ransford is the Director of Science and Policy for Cure Violence Global, where has is responsible for advancing the theoretical basis for the Cure Violence Health Approach and building and leading a national effort to create a health sector framework around violence prevention. Mr. Ransford is additionally centrally involved in data and evaluation, strategic planning, communications, and dissemination of the model nationally and globally – including authoring several papers on the Cure Violence health approach. Mr. Ransford is a graduate (MPP) of the Harris School for Public Policy at the University of Chicago, and has previously worked for the US Department of Justice.