Ravens invest $1 million in Baltimore gun violence prevention efforts
· Yahoo Sports
The Baltimore Ravens are making a $1 million investment in gun violence prevention, committing resources to six local and national organizations working across prevention, crisis response, and long-term recovery.
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The team announced the investment on Tuesday, aligning the commitment with Baltimore Together: A Violence Prevention Summit at M&T Bank Stadium. The event brought together leaders from health care, public safety, government, research, and community advocacy for a daylong conversation focused on reducing violence, strengthening neighborhoods, and building on Baltimore’s recent progress.
The University of Maryland Medical System, the University of Maryland Medical Center, and the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center hosted the summit, with the Ravens providing support and underwriting as part of the franchise’s broader effort to use its platform beyond football. The summit included community leaders, health care professionals, public safety officials, researchers, advocates, and policymakers.
Ravens president Sashi Brown said the franchise views violence prevention as life-saving work and believes the organization has a responsibility to support groups already making a measurable impact.
“Reducing gun violence is some of the most impactful work being done across our nation. It is life-saving work, and the progress here in Baltimore has been simply phenomenal,” Brown said in a statement. “The Ravens have a platform and a responsibility to shine a light on the frontline organizations driving meaningful change. We are proud to support partners who are advancing prevention, promoting healing and expanding opportunities for young people and families in Baltimore and beyond.”
The investment will support the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, MedStar Health’s Hospital Violence Responder program, Everytown for Gun Safety, Roca Maryland, the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Healing Through Storytelling initiative.
Funding for MONSE will support technical assistance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Crime and Justice Policy Lab to expand the Group Violence Reduction Strategy. The program has already shown success in Baltimore, including reductions in homicides and shootings in the Western District.
MedStar Health’s Hospital Violence Responder program will use funding to provide emergency assistance to victims of gun violence, domestic violence, and human trafficking treated at local hospitals. The support will help cover essential needs such as shelter, clothing, and food, while also expanding community education efforts, including Stop the Bleed and Hands-Only CPR training for students.
Everytown for Gun Safety will use its funding for conflict resolution and gun violence prevention training tours across Baltimore high schools, while Roca Maryland will advance its evidence-based violence intervention work with young men at high risk of involvement in violence. Roca’s model includes outreach, cognitive behavioral therapy-based programming, and transitional employment.
Shock Trauma’s funding is tied to collaborative forums such as the Baltimore Together summit, which is designed to align leaders across government, health care, universities, and community organizations. Johns Hopkins Medicine will use its support to expand the “This Is My Story” initiative across trauma units and create the Champions for Change Fellowship, a paid leadership program for Baltimore youth affected by violence.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott thanked the Ravens for the investment, saying the support will help the city build on progress in reducing homicides and nonfatal shootings.
The summit featured Thomas Abt, the founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction at the University of Maryland, as the keynote speaker. Scott was scheduled to deliver an address titled “Baltimore’s Turning Point: Progress, Proof and the Path Forward,” while other expected attendees included Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, UMMS President and CEO Dr. Mohan Suntha, Shock Trauma Physician-in-Chief Dr. Thomas Scalea, MedStar Health’s Phyllis Gray, Everytown’s Michael Sean Spence, Shock Trauma Vice President Kristie Snedeker and Roca Executive Vice President Kurtis Palermo.
For the Ravens, the announcement continues a larger pattern of community investment. The franchise has long positioned itself as part of Baltimore’s civic fabric, and Tuesday’s commitment moves that role into one of the city’s most urgent issues.
The investment is not framed as a one-day response. It is spread across organizations working at different points of the violence prevention continuum, from youth engagement and conflict resolution to hospital-based intervention, frontline outreach, research, and healing. That broader approach reflects the central message of the summit: reducing violence requires coordination, sustained funding, and trust between institutions and communities.
By using M&T Bank Stadium as a gathering place and directing money toward organizations already working on the front lines, the Ravens are attempting to support a citywide effort that extends well beyond football. The goal is to help Baltimore strengthen the partnerships that have contributed to recent progress and create more pathways for prevention, recovery, and long-term change.
This article originally appeared on Ravens Wire: Ravens announce major investment in safer Baltimore communities