Community Health Committee Meeting: Violence Prevention Strategic Plan and Stand Up SA Briefing – June 25, 2026

The Community Health Committee convened at 10:00 a.m. on June 25, 2026, to receive a briefing from Metro Health on the Regional Violence Prevention Strategic Plan and the Stand Up SA gun violence intervention program. The presentation covered community-wide violence data, program metrics, and a discussion on funding priorities and evaluation challenges.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Roger Garza, Texas State Director for Giffords, spoke in support of expanding violence prevention efforts. He advocated for the creation of a centralized Office of Violence Prevention and sustained investment in evidence-based community-driven strategies such as hospital-based intervention, street outreach, and case management.

Discussion Items

• Presentation by Metro Health (Dr. Jacob, Erica Haller Stevenson):
  • Provided an overview of violence as a public health issue. Key statistics for 2024: homicide was among the top four causes of death for ages 1–34 in Texas; SAPD reported 126 homicides; Bexar County had seven family violence calls per 911 each hour; 16% of homeless individuals were survivors of domestic violence; CPS confirmed over 3,000 child abuse cases.
  • The city’s violence prevention budget is $11.5 million (current year), with 67% allocated to domestic violence, 17% to Stand Up SA (gun violence intervention), 5% to Triple P (child abuse prevention), and the remainder to support staff and data collection.
  • The Regional Violence Prevention Strategic Plan (2024–2028) was launched in January 2024. Midterm assessment shows the city is implementing three-quarters of the plan’s strategies across four priority areas: youth violence, gun violence, sexual violence, and domestic violence.
  • Crime data (2022 vs. 2025) shows declines in rates: shootings down 46%, homicides down 56% (43% if excluding the 2022 migrant death incident), sexual violence (adults and minors) down, and assaults down 6%.
  • Stand Up SA, a Cure Violence model program, began in 2015 on the east side (District 2) and expanded to the west side (Districts 1 and 5) in 2022. In FY25, staff interrupted nearly 500 violent conflicts, and the program includes hospital-based response and juvenile justice engagement.
• Council Q&A and Discussion:
  • Councilmember White questioned the attribution of crime reductions to specific programs versus hotspot policing and requested a cost-effectiveness analysis per dollar spent. He noted the difficulty of linking public health interventions directly to outcomes.
  • Councilmember Castillo asked about coordination with the Neighborhood and Housing Services Department (NHSD) and delegate agencies. Metro Health and DHS provided details on domestic violence relocation assistance and funding levels ($1.2 million for domestic violence agencies serving ~2,300 individuals, $1.5 million for child abuse programs serving ~3,700 children/families).
  • Councilmember Alderete Gavito raised concerns about serving immigrant and veteran populations and asked about automatic referrals to Ready to Work employment pipeline. Metro Health confirmed they train staff on Ready to Work but lack a formal referral system; the Chair suggested exploring a “button” for automatic referrals.
  • Councilmember Mesa Gonzalez requested a gun safe distribution partnership and inquired about healthy relationship education in schools. Metro Health noted legal barriers from the governor’s office but highlighted workarounds through after-school programs and partnerships with SAISD.
  • Councilmember White (District 2) emphasized the value of Stand Up SA in his district (which contains two of the five target zones), urged consideration of 13–15 year olds for prevention, and supported the centralized hub model discussed at a re-entry roundtable.
  • Chair Galan raised questions about grant funding landscape (CDC’s Office of Injury and Violence Prevention dismantled, limited DOJ funds) and the need for dedicated staff to monitor the strategic plan’s implementation and data integration. He requested area-specific crime data and comparison with peer cities.

Key Outcomes

• Metro Health will follow up with council on:
  • A cost-effectiveness analysis for violence prevention programs.
  • A partner slide listing delegate agencies for each priority area.
  • Exploring an automatic referral system between Metro Health and Ready to Work.
• Councilmember White will connect with Metro Health on a potential visit to the juvenile justice facility.
• The Chair suggested bringing a more detailed update (including area-level data) back to the committee later in 2026 or early 2027.
• No formal votes were taken; the meeting adjourned at 11:12 a.m.