Community-Based Violence Reduction Efforts Could Be Casualties of GOP Budget

The GOP’s proposed cuts to Medicaid could take away an important lifeline in the effort to combat violence. Despite significant reductions in violent crime since the pandemic, violence and the fear of violence remain a stubborn feature of daily life in too many communities across the U.S. A new strategy of using Medicaid funding to support community-based trauma counseling to reduce violence has growing support at the state level, but the Republican budget bill that passed the house would cut more than $800 billion in Medicaid funding over the next 10 years — and most likely close the door on this essential tool.

As experts on public safety, we have seen firsthand the importance of childhood trauma in driving violence. At Newark’s HUBB Arts and Trauma Center (HUBB ATC) we see every da