Our Case Statement

Firearm Harm: A Public Health Crisis

Firearm harm is often seen as an intractable problem where solutions are scant and where violence due to firearms is “something that happens to someone else.” The truth is that this issue cuts across rural, suburban, and urban communities and racial lines. We are in the middle of a full-blown public health crisis, as 46,000 Americans, including 3,200 Californians, die from gunfire each year, and firearm injuries are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States.

This crisis must be addressed through an equity lens and with a public health-based framework that recognizes most solutions exist outside of the halls of state legislatures and Congress. A narrow policy focus leaves out many aspects of prevention, intervention, and trauma aftercare. It leaves out the necessity to focus on the underlying factors that contribute to violence and self-harm. Harm from firearms shows up in three major forms: community violence, intimate partner violence, and suicide.

This crisis is right in front of us.

3 in 4 of all U.S. firearm homicide victims are Black or Latino.
Firearm suicides account for one out of every two firearm deaths in California and three in five nationally.
Of all females killed by a firearm, 88% knew their killer, and firearms were used in ⅔ of the attacks.

Hope and Heal Fund was Created to Address a Need

Hope and Heal Fund is a California-based organization advancing innovative solutions to reduce harm and trauma due to violence and suicide, with a key focus on the most lethal means of harm—firearms. Started in 2016 by philanthropic and public health leaders, Hope and Heal Fund was created to provide an innovative, integrative, equitable, and public health approach to an issue that, for decades, has lacked this much-needed focus. The time to act is now. Your support for the Hope and Heal Fund is critical. Hope and Heal needs resources to continue to support our impacted communities and scale our cutting-edge innovative approaches.

Since its inception, Hope and Heal Fund has been supported by 20 foundations and over 50 individual donors. We have raised over $10 million to support impacted communities, push government systems to respond holistically to firearm harm, and fill gaps with an equity lens. We engage our donors, and many serve on our Steering Committee.

Our Impact

Led an 18-month statewide campaign with the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to implement California’s Gun Violence Restraining Order law.
Funded the creation of the first Geographic Information Mapping (GIS) of California firearm deaths and trained four cohorts of diverse community leaders on accessing and mapping local data.
Produced protocols for behavioral health systems to screen for firearm access for those in crisis.
Funded a comprehensive messaging guide for advocates on addressing firearm harm in communities.
Developed toolkits and frameworks for cities and local leaders to equitably address firearm harm.
Leveraged grants to impacted community organizations to access public resources, including a $10,000 grant in San Diego that resulted in $3.25 million of state funding for violence prevention.
Funded critical reports, including the intersection of child maltreatment and violence, the extent of firearm deaths in the Latino and LGBTQ+ community, and the cost of firearm violence to communities.
Commissioned firearm safe storage public service announcements in both Spanish and English.

Our Approach and Our Values

Hope and Heal Fund is deeply rooted in community engagement, with data-driven strategies informed by our community members and public health experts. We identify and support solutions that address the intersectional root causes and drivers of firearm violence and self-harm.

Hope and Heal Fund supports impacted communities in California and serves as a national model guiding other states on how to leverage innovative strategies, empower communities and stakeholders with actionable data, resources, and capacity while driving systemic change. We believe that:

Harm from firearms is not an intractable problem; it is preventable.
We must innovate, as solutions exist beyond policy.
Local leaders can and do provide the best solutions for their communities.
We must invest in innovative system change efforts that garner greater gains and impact.
This issue must be addressed holistically and intersectionally rather than just reacting to isolated shootings.
Equity-based solutions are essential as firearm harm adversely affects communities of color.

Hope and Heal Fund is Uniquely Qualified to Address This Problem

Unlike most firearm violence prevention organizations, Hope and Heal Fund addresses the underlying causes of violence and self-harm with a key focus on firearms as the most lethal means of harm. Addressing the causes and drivers of firearm harm is central to our systems change philosophy. Our diverse team has decades of experience that includes expertise in racial equity, systems change, behavioral health, cultural healing, and community engagement.

Hope and Heal Fund understands that obtaining a firearm is a personal choice. Americans purchase firearms for different reasons, including self-protection, collecting, and hunting. Regardless of the reason for bringing a firearm into the home, firearm owners and family members must understand the risks involved of unintended consequences, including self-harm, intimate partner violence, mass shootings, and accidental shootings. It is with this understanding that Hope and Heal Fund is uniquely positioned to advance strategies and pilot innovative solutions to dramatically reduce harm from firearms.

Our 3-Year Plan: 2025 – 2028

STRATEGY	IMPLEMENTATION	OUTCOME
Combat misinformation on firearms and masculinity among Latino men	Develop online tools using AI to detect and counter toxic narratives and misinformation in real time	Place culturally-appropriate tools on major social media platforms/track engagement
Reduce Firearm Suicides	Push mental health systems to institute firearm screening protocols	25% reduction in firearm suicides in five counties or systems
Increase Public Funding of Firearm Harm Prevention Strategies	Capacity-building grants to impacted communities/engage local leaders	Five community hubs/leverage $500K for $5M return locally
Improve data collection to better understand lethal domestic violence	Implement policies in counties to disaggregate firearm death data	10 counties improve reporting on domestic violence firearm homicides
Reduce the easy access to firearms in communities and homes	Produce culturally-relevant safe storage PSAs and track local gun trafficking patterns and ID sources	Place 10 PSAs in key communities and ID gun trafficking patterns in three cities/educate local leaders
Changing the Narrative	Train local cohorts to map firearm deaths and on our messaging guide	Train 10 local cohorts and obtain 25 positive local media stories.