Community Violence Intervention: Raymond Solorzano and Southern California Crossroads

Pastor Raymond Solorzano works with Southern California Crossroads, an organization that focuses on providing safety and healing to individuals who have been affected by gun violence in their communities. A community violence intervention (CVI) success story himself, Raymond is both a CVI advocate and practitioner. In his role at Crossroads, Raymond visits individuals at the local trauma recovery center who have suffered violent injuries and connects them with social services that can remove barriers to achieving a life free of violence.

Raymond’s trauma-informed approach is shared by many hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs), which place mental health specialists and credible messengers in hospital emergency rooms or trauma recovery centers to offer support in vulnerable moments, ease retaliatory tensions, and connect individuals with additional services when they have suffered a firearm-related injury. In this video, Raymond shares how powerful this moment can be for violence-impacted individuals who are ready to change their life’s trajectory.