In this issue: National Public Health Week was celebrated the first week of April, and we always appreciate the opportunity to celebrate the role of public health in addressing some of our most pressing societal concerns. At VPRP, the public health approach for firearm violence prevention has been a core tenet of our organization and our work from the beginning and continues to guide our evolving research. 

This means that in addition to studying the role of firearms, our team is also researching the social structures that perpetuate and create environments for violence. Dr. Shani Buggs, inaugural Cal Wellness Fellow and assistant professor at UC Davis and VPRP, explained more in an interview with Cal Wellness:

"What we know about gun violence is that structural and societal conditions play a major role in the concentration of gun violence among people and among places, and allow gun violence to flourish. We know that gun violence is heavily concentrated in areas where there are lots of risk factors associated with gun violence and too few protective factors. The risk factors are things like high rates of poverty and income inequality, high rates of police contact, high rates of underemployment or unemployment, and housing instability and insecurity. Protective factors are things like high rates of educational attainment and economic stability.

"When you start to see these patterns, you realize that this is not an issue of, 'We just need more police because people are inherently violent or inherently criminal in these areas.' The social and structural conditions have allowed for deprivation and lack of opportunity, hope, and upward social and economic mobility to be concentrated in places. And that's allowed gun violence to flourish." 

Read on for more on public health week and beyond, including job postings for a Financial Services Analyst and a Financial Assistant to join our team. Please share widely!

Other topics covered:

• New research on community violence intervention and adolescent handgun carrying.
• Dr. Shani Buggs and Dr. Garen Wintemute joined a dozen other public health researchers on a brief urging the Supreme Court to grant cert in United States v. Rahimi.
• Dr. Angela Bayer provided invited expert testimony before the California State Assembly Committee.

Stay informed—read the full newsletter for insights on how our work is driving violence prevention, our latest research and resources, upcoming events, and more. Subscribe so you never miss an issue.