Seeing the signals: SafeStat® connects communities working to prevent violence

Every day, outreach workers show up in neighborhoods hit hardest by community violence. They know who’s at risk and key points of tension, and build trust slowly, one relationship at a time. What they don’t often have is a way to share that knowledge across the agencies, partners, and city systems working alongside them. They need a single, reliable picture of what’s happening and who’s being reached.

SafeStat® was built to do exactly that. And in Houston this month, it was launched at one of the most important gatherings in the community violence intervention (CVI) space: The National Offices of Violence Prevention Network (NOVPN) convention.

What is SafeStat?

SafeStat is a community-led, digital platform built on Bonterra’s Apricot, built to help stop cycles of violence before they take hold. It brings CVI practitioners, city leaders, and community partners together around a single, shared view of what’s happening in their neighborhoods, replacing fragmented data systems and manual processes with coordinated, real-time intelligence.

SafeStat stands out from other collaborative technologies because it’s built alongside communities, not handed down to them. Each city’s practitioners and stakeholders shape how the platform fits their existing relationships and workflows — and how it strengthens the work already happening on the ground.

The partnership behind it

SafeStat was built and led by three national, Black-led organizations at the center of the country’s fight against gun violence:

• Cities United
• Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI)
• National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR)

Together with support from Bonterra and the Ballmer Group, these organizations use CVI strategies with a shared goal: reducing near-term violence by 20% in the cities hit hardest by gun violence.

That’s the animating vision behind SafeStat, and it’s what made NOVPN the ideal stage to introduce it to a national audience.

What SafeStat makes possible

The platform addresses some of the most persistent operational challenges in CVI work:

A shared view of who’s being reached and where gaps remain. Communities define this picture themselves, ensuring the data reflects ground-level reality rather than administrative assumptions.

Case management resources that support frontline staff. SafeStat is designed to reduce paperwork burden, giving workers on the ground more time for the work that matters.

Stronger coordination across the ecosystem. From outreach workers to city agencies to community partners, SafeStat connects the people doing CVI work on the community’s terms.

Reporting that communities own. SafeStat gives organizations the tools to show funders and city leaders the real impact of their work in their own words.

Privacy and trust by design. SafeStat is a secure, private system with anonymized outputs to protect sensitive data and PII. Community trust is built into the platform’s architecture.

Here’s Bonterra CRO Ben Cohen sharing more about the thinking behind the creation of SafeStat:

Built for this moment

Gun violence remains one of the most urgent public health crises in America. Cities with dedicated Offices of Violence Prevention are making meaningful progress, but they need infrastructure that matches their ambition. SafeStat is designed to be that infrastructure — scalable, community-shaped, and grounded in the relationships and expertise of the people already doing this work.

Bonterra is honored to support the organizations leading this effort and to play a role in connecting the communities that deliver impact.

Want to learn more about bringing SafeStat to your city?

Visit SafeStat.org or reach out to our team directly:

• Kristi McCeig Lewison, Strategic Initiatives Director — [email protected]
• Amit Motwani, Engagement Director — [email protected]