Jefferson County’s HVIP is hiring

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - A program designed to support victims and families of gun violence in Jefferson County is now hiring.

Jefferson County’s health leaders are hoping to get the Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program, or HVIP, up and running before the end of the year, but they need to hire some essential staff first.

The Jefferson County Department of Health has been working for years to adopt a Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program.

There’s money to run the program, but it still needs staff.

“A full-time social worker, licensed. There will be three violence intervention specialists. Those are the ones who will interact directly with the patients after they’ve been victims of violence in the hospital, and then follow them for several months after that, and then there’s a supervisor for those three,” said Jefferson County Health Officer, Dr. Mark Wilson.

The health department, UAB’s Trauma Center, and the Offender Alumni Association are interviewing candidates now.

“We hope to have everyone hired in September, and start doing the training in October, and get the program going after that,” Dr. Wilson explained.

Dr. Wilson said gun violence is a major health concern adding this program is a step toward breaking the cycle of violence in Jefferson County.

“It’s just heartbreaking to see almost everyday somebody getting killed. Most of these are young people and you can just image the impact it would have on their families and on the communities that they live in. It’s a desperate feeling that we need to do something,” Dr. Wilson said.

Dr. Wilson says the HVIP is a small drop in a huge bucket of gun violence in Jefferson County, but he hopes it will have far-reaching ripples over time.

For more information on how you can apply for these positions contact the Offender Alumni Association at (205) 916-0123 or email the Executive Director for OAA, Deborah Daniels, at ddaniels@offenderalumni.org.

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