Community Safety
Community safety is a cornerstone of overall health. When environments are safe, people can flourish, injuries and violence decline, and communities grow stronger and more resilient. Promoting safety and well-being calls for a broad approach—one that brings together local agencies, community organizations, and other partners to implement proven strategies that foster equity and health across all groups. Social, economic, and environmental factors shape many health outcomes at once, and tackling shared risks and protective factors is essential.
Goal
By 2029, reduce the percentage of high school students who reported being forced to do sexual things they did not want to in the past 12 months, from baseline of 10.6% to below the HP2030 target of 8.7%.
Strategies
Improve accessibility and confidentiality of reporting channels.
Increase the number of localities with a coordinated community response plan.
Provide sensitivity training for personnel who handle such reports.
Analyze data to locate hotspots and tailor interventions.
Guide policy and program development through a multisector community partner group.
Boost positive youth development programs and coordinated response plans in localities.
Goal
By 2029, decrease the percentage of children ages (<18) who report two or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) from the baseline of 20% by 5%.
Strategies
Integrate family resilience screening in primary care by encouraging pediatricians and family physicians to screen for family strengths and refer families to parenting support, education, and crisis assistance services, including community-based hubs like Richmond SCAN.
Partner with schools, early childhood centers, and community-based organizations to offer positive parenting programs and expand mentoring opportunities in community or virtual settings.
Strengthen economic support by supporting policies like child tax credits, affordable childcare, and housing assistance.
Launch public awareness campaigns on ACEs, resilience, and available parenting and family resources.
Goal
By 2029, reduce firearm-related death rate from the baseline of 14.3 deaths per 100,000 people to below the HP2030 target of 11.9 deaths per 100,000 people.
Strategies
Develop and share firearm injury data products (e.g., dashboards, data briefs) to raise awareness of the burden of firearm injuries and deaths. Use these insights to guide community partners and policymakers in creating program roadmaps for both unintentional and intentional injury prevention.
Support implementation of Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM) training across health systems, equipping providers to help clients at risk for suicide reduce access to lethal means. Promote suicide prevention hotlines, such as the 988 Lifeline, to provide immediate resources for individuals and families.
Collaborate with diverse, multi-sectoral partners to implement interventions across the Social Ecological Model. These efforts seek to decrease risk factors and increase protective factors at individual, family, community, and public levels.
Goal
By 2029, reduce the rate of pedestrian-involved motor vehicle crash deaths from the baseline 1.4 deaths per 100,000 people to below 1.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
Strategies
Establish a framework to expand and improve walking and biking trails, increase connectivity of a non-auto paths, and provide dedicated infrastructure for cyclists such as bicycle lanes, cycle tracks, and protected bike paths. These efforts will enhance safety, encourage active transportation, and help reduce traffic congestion.
Promote walking and biking to school by advancing Safe Routes to School (SRTS) initiatives that include education, incentives, and environmental changes.
Build and share a comprehensive picture of pedestrian injury and healthy equity, using data to guide state and local partners (VDOT, MPOs, and local governments) in prioritizing high-injury corridors and populations for pedestrian-safety projects, with focus on communities needing greater health opportunities.
Convene and train local, cross-sector teams using the VWAI model to increase adoption of effective pedestrian injury countermeasures.
Lead community engagement and communication campaigns to promote safe walking and rolling, address speed and distracted driving, and support local planning processes such as CHA/CHIP.
Provide evidence-based support for policies that make streets safer, including initiatives like Health in All Policies, Safe Routes to Parks, Safe Routes to Everyday Destinations, and Complete Streets.