Milwaukee, May 19, 2022 – Reggie Moore, Director of Violence Prevention Policy and Engagement for the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Comprehensive Injury Center (CIC), joined President Joe Biden, along with select mayors and members of law enforcement from across the country, in a roundtable at the White House to discuss his unique perspective on the value of allocating American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support a community approach to violence prevention efforts.

Moore, who was asked to provide opening remarks at the roundtable last week, addressed the role of public health in comprehensive approaches to public safety and the value of community and hospital-based violence intervention programs, such as the 414LIFE violence prevention program.

“Having an audience with the President of the United States and representatives from cities across the country provided an important opportunity to affirm our support of comprehensive approaches to violence prevention,” Moore said.

Last fall, Gov. Tony Evers announced a $45 million investment in ARPA funds for violence prevention and victim services. MCW received $6.6 million of that funding to advance research, data collection, education and community engagement efforts around violence prevention throughout Wisconsin. Of Evers’ investment, an additional $10 million was allocated to establish a statewide violence prevention fund to be administered by MCW. Communities across the state will be able to apply for funds for community-based violence Intervention programs to address gun violence, domestic violence, and suicides.

In a briefing following the roundtable, President Biden commended Moore for the work being done by partnering with the City of Milwaukee and Froedtert Hospital to house the 414LIFE program.

“We have an expert here with us who is one of the best at those solutions,” Biden said of Moore. “Community violence intervention is about using tested messages, community leaders, community members to directly work with people who are the most likely to commit gun crimes or become victims of those gun crimes. And it works. They intervene before it’s too late, with public health and safety approaches that work.

Biden went on to thank Moore and encourage more states and communities to follow suit.

“We need more of these programs,” Biden said. “And we need states and communities to invest in things like jobs and training for young people, summer programs, drug treatment and mental health programs, housing, criminal justice reform, reentry support for people coming home from — after incarceration.”

Watch President Biden’s remarks