POIC

The Case Study. The New York Times highlighted the work of the POIC Community Safety team this week in combating violence in Portland. A collaborative effort involving the City of Portland, health care institutions, and other CBOs, the difference they're making to reduce violence and gun-related deaths in the area takes continued investment and support.

Nationally recognized and awarded, and instrumental in creating a certification program of Community Safety Workers with Portland State University, Co-Directors Roy Moore and Hiag Brown lead a team that works round the clock to improve community safety and address violence through interruption, prevention, and intervention. The latest data from the City of Portland, OR shows homicides are down 56% year-to-date and 68% compared to the three-year average.

Read the full story here: https://nyti.ms/4fjKoDj

Working with families and youth impacted by violence requires staff who serve their community with understanding, patience, and experience.

Isiah Bailey, a Program Manager on our Community Safety team, serves as a hospital responder and supervisor, meeting with families directly after violent incidents and continuing to provide support long thereafter. As a survivor of gun violence himself, Isiah's lived experience is integral to the way he shows up for our participants and guides their healing with grace.

"I come from spaces where trauma and loss were part of everyday life...My journey is not separate from this work; it is the reason I do it." - Isiah Bailey, POIC Community Safety Program Manager.

POIC's Healing Hurt People Team and OHSU research partners continue to redefine what comprehensive trauma care looks like through Photovoice.

The team recently gathered at the 2026 Northwest States Trauma Conference, where they presented photos and testimony documenting the day-to-day experiences of hospital-based intervention workers. By centering frontline staff perspectives, Photovoice communicates the human side of trauma care and explores what it means to support survivors outside the hospital.

We're grateful for our continued partnership with OHSU and proud to advance trauma-informed, community-centered solutions for safer neighborhoods.