For more information about what data is available for request, click here.
The Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention (OVP), housed within the Department of Public Health, works to strengthen coordination, capacity and partnerships to address the root causes of violence, and to advance policies and practices that are grounded in race equity, to prevent all forms of violence and to promote healing across all communities in Los Angeles County.
OVP monitors the trends and circumstances of violent deaths affecting Los Angeles County to inform decision makers and program planners about ways to prevent and intervene on violence in the community, at home and in the workplace.
The month of May serves as a time to highlight the importance of mental well-being, educate the public and provide support for those affected by mental health conditions. While awareness has grown and progress has been made, many Los Angeles County residents still face significant barriers to accessing comprehensive mental health care. This gap is especially critical when considering suicide prevention. While there is no single cause of suicide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, using data from the National Violent Death Reporting System, estimates that 46% of people who die by suicide had a known mental health condition.
In Los Angeles County, suicide is a leading cause of death among youth with more than 100 young people dying by suicide each year.1 Additionally, for each suicide death, over 16 non-fatal suicide attempts are treated in hospitals and emergency departments.2
To address this urgent issue, in 2023 the California Department of Public Health funded 10 counties across the state, including Los Angeles, to participate in the Youth Suicide Reporting and Crisis Response Pilot Program.3 The program’s goals include developing and testing models to report incidents of youth suicide deaths and attempts as well as developing strategies for rapidly responding to these events by providing crisis services.
In Los Angeles County, this initiative is being led by the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP). Through the Youth Suicide Prevention Pilot (YSPP), OVP is working to support youth in their homes, schools, and communities via several projects that will improve data collection and reporting, increase access to and awareness of mental health resources, expand training opportunities, and provide youth with support and referrals after a crisis.
1Los Angeles County Annual 2018-2023 Data Files, assembled from California Department of Public Health Vital Records Data. Office of Health Assessment & Epidemiology, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. 2Sarkodee-Adoo N. and Sternfeld I. et al., “Youth Suicides and Suicide Attempts in Los Angeles County (2016-2020) Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Office of Violence Prevention, 2022. 3California Department of Public Health Office of Suicide Prevention. Youth Suicide Prevention Program Highlights, 2023.
OVP is proud to launch a new funding opportunity through our Gender-Based Violence Prevention Community Grant. This grant supports community-driven strategies that prevent gender-based violence. Grants will fund programs focused on one of four service categories:
Investing in healthy relationship education and training for youth,
Engaging men and boys as allies and change agents,
Uplifting LGBTQ+ youth leadership, and
Economic empowerment for women and girls as a key to long-term safety and independence.
OVP aims to fund programs that prioritize equity, healing, and safety for everyone; starting with those most impacted and in communities frequently under-resourced especially as it pertains to prevention. Community-based organizations are encouraged to apply. The grant application can be found here. For more information, please email GBVPreventionFund@socalgrantmakers.org.
The application deadline is Friday, May 23 at 5:00 PM PST.
OVP is Distributing 60,000 Gun Locks; Free, No Questions Asked
On Tuesday, April 2, the Department of Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention publicly launched an initiative to help prevent the devastating impact of gun violence including the tragedy of unintentional shootings – which disproportionately affect children – and gun suicides. As part of the initiative, OVP will be distributing 60,000 gun locks; free, no questions asked.
The locks, educational materials and community resources are available through this Gun Lock Request Form and six County medical facilities: Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, High Desert Regional Health Center, Los Angeles General Medical Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Outpatient Center, Olive View – UCLA Medical Center, and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center.
“Far too many families have experienced the terrible pain of losing a child or teen-ager to gun violence,” said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Director of the Department of Public Health. “In a number of these cases, the simple act of locking and safely storing firearms would have prevented a tragedy.”
Dr. Ferrer was joined by several speakers at Rancho Los Amigos for the official, public kickoff of the gun lock distribution program, including Dr. Shannon Thyne, Director of Pediatrics for the L.A. County Department of Health Services, and two survivors of gun violence.
A total of 13 gun safety and community organizations participated in a resource fair at Rancho Los Amigos following the end of the formal ceremony.
Distribution of gun locks is part of OVP’s comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence in our communities, which includes developing the 40-point Gun Violence Prevention Platform, providing education about various restraining orders, supporting federal and state gun safety legislation, a school safety initiative, and partnering with health care providers on discussing safe storage with their patients.
Youth Suicide and Suicide Attempts in Los Angeles County
The Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention has released a new report, “Youth Suicide and Suicide Attempts in Los Angeles County,” which highlights suicide and suicide attempt data among Los Angeles County youth ages 10-24 between 2016 and 2020. The report includes general demographics, methods most frequently used, and suicide trends during the five-year period. The report also briefly overviews reported suicides and attempts during 2020, with the acknowledgment that there is still much more to understand about this unprecedented time. The report concludes with links to prevention resources that reduce stigma and normalize mental health as an integral component of health and wellbeing. Click here to view the report.
OVP supports the County’s LA vs. Hate Initiative led by the Human Relations Commission in collaboration with community partners. LA vs Hate is a community-centered creative campaign to encourage and support all residents of Los Angeles County to unite against, report, and resist hate.
If you are the victim, or witness of, a hate incident or hate crime you can report the incident/crime with 211 LA. Your report is confidential and 211 is not affiliated with law enforcement.
After extensive review and input, the Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) Early Implementation Strategic Plan was adopted by the County Leadership Committee and Community Partnership Council in September 2020. Read more about OVP Early Implementation Strategic Plan here.
The OVP Strategic Plan is a live document and we welcome your ongoing feedback, specifically as it pertains to our priorities, goals, objectives and strategies. Please provide your input by sending an email to ovp@ph.lacounty.gov or email Andrea Welsing, OVP Director, directly at awelsing@ph.lacounty.gov. We hope you will provide your thoughts, comments and recommendations for the Strategic Plan and that you will continue to be part of our violence prevention and healing efforts as we work together to advance strategies to prevent violence and promote healing.
