CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte city leaders are meeting Monday to discuss a new program aimed at cracking down on violence in the Queen City.
Atrium found that hospitalizations of gunshot victims in North Carolina are above the national average and they've continued to go up over the last five years. To combat what they're seeing in the ER, the health provider started a violence prevention program with the city of Charlotte that matches patients with critical resources where violence can stem from.
"We need to support people who are needing access to critical necessities like food and housing," Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley said in an interview earlier this year. "Everything else like that creates a breeding ground for traumatic events."
HOME ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN CHARLOTTE
The hope is that more low-cost intervention methods can take hold in hospitals, churches, and community centers across Charlotte to address the issues that are starting points for violence.
"We need hospital-based intervention programs, community-based programs that will help channel into medicine and medication," Kinsley added. "We need to make things more productive."
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