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Safety Exit
Content current as of 04/04/25

Violence Reduction & Community Support Programs

If you are experiencing domestic violence and need help right now, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-SAFE (7233).

Domestic Violence Resources and Support

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have been victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner, and nearly half of all men and women have experienced psychological aggression from a partner.

Understanding what domestic violence is and recognizing the signs are the first steps to escaping the cycle of violence. Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in an intimate relationship where one person tries to control or dominate the other. Assaulting, threatening or stalking an intimate partner (past or present) is a crime in the State of Washington (RCW 10.99.020).

In the 2025-2026 biennium, the City funded more than $1.5 million for services including:

  • Advocacy and intervention services
  • Case management and safety planning
  • Counseling/Behavioral health services
  • Criminal Justice services
  • Financial services
  • Education and training
  • Street outreach
  • Support groups

Learn more about how our work to improve family violence supportive services in the Strategic Alliance Recommendations Report 2021.

Resources and Links

Crystal Judson Family Justice Center
718 Court E
Tacoma, WA 98402

YWCA Pierce County
405 Broadway
Tacoma, WA 98402

Rebuilding Hope, Sexual Assault Center of Pierce County
1010 E 26th St
Tacoma, WA 98421

Tacoma Community House
1314 S L Street
Tacoma, WA 98405

Our Sister’s House
2714 N 21st St #3
Tacoma, WA 98406

New Phoebe House Association
PO Box 525
Tacoma, WA 98415 (confidential location)

Exodus Housing

Korean Women’s Association
123 E 96th St
Tacoma, WA 98445

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

 

Youth and Young Adult Violence Reduction

Since 2013, the City of Tacoma has implemented the Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP) Comprehensive Gang Model. This evidenced-based framework is a set of five core strategies that guide the coordination and community collaboration to reduce youth violence.

The City continues to strategize on ways to enhance this approach to addressing youth and young adult violence and other crime prevention services that incorporate community feedback and the needs of our community. 

Comprehensive Gang Model (five core strategies)

  • Community Mobilization – community engagement and collaboration
  • Opportunities Provision – education, training, and employment programs
  • Social Intervention – outreach and access to provision of services for gang-involved youth and their families
  • Suppression – community policing with formal and informal social controls and accountability measures
  • Organizational Change and Development – development of policy for effective use of resources 

Steering Committee & Program Support

This work is led by an Executive Steering Committee made up of local and state jurisdiction leaders, and community advocates.

Each year, the Mayor selects a Council Member to Chair and Vice Chair the committee. The Executive Steering Committee consists of key policy-level members of the community interested in youth violence prevention, intervention, suppression, and systems change to help inform and guide the direction the City will take at reducing youth violence.

The City sub-contracts with two agencies to convene the City’s Multidisciplinary Intervention Team (MDiT) and a Community Advisory Committee (CAC). Multiple sectors of the community (local government, law enforcement, juvenile justice, CBOs, lived-experience community members) collaborate to give input to the design and implementation of youth violence reduction strategies and help address needs and gaps in services.

  • Multidisciplinary Team – Meetings each month with all City of Tacoma funded youth and young adult violence reduction and human trafficking providers, and other community stakeholders.
  • Community Advisory Committee – Quarterly meetings with residents, service providers, clients, TPD, families of clients, community stakeholders, business leaders, faith-based organizations, and schools.

Violent Crime and Human Trafficking

The City recognizes the importance of providing comprehensive prevention and intervention programs to address violent crime and commercial sexual exploitation of children (human trafficking).

To some, human trafficking can be seen as a high-profit, low-risk venture when there is an absence of other economic opportunities, despite the risks of violence and serious criminal involvement. This same lack of opportunity can often lead youth and young adults to engage in violent crimes.

We are committed to investing in services that increase safety and supports systems, while decreasing violence in our community. We invest in programming that is trauma-informed, culturally relevant, evidence-based, and is centered in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Read the Youth and Young Adult Violence Assessment of 2022

By funding multiple providers for Youth and Young Adult Violence Reduction, we create greater sustainability of culturally relevant programs in the highest need communities. Programs and services support youth at-risk of committing violent crimes, human trafficking, and youth development programming.

How To Get Involved

The purpose of this group is to strategize ways to enhance the partnership between identified neighborhoods (Hilltop, East Side, and West of Tacoma Mall), service providers, and law enforcement, identify gaps in service, discuss areas of improvement, hear program implementation updates, and assess the structural issues that cause the problems with addressing youth and young adult violence and human trafficking.

Meets quarterly (dates and times to be determined):

Monthly meeting held to share and collaborate among agencies serving youth and young adults who are gang/group-involved, or at risk of becoming gang/group-involved. The team-based approach helps ensure that all agencies working with these clients have a common goal and shared strategies for each client, as well as leverage resources and discuss other meaningful information to reduce violence and human trafficking within the community.

The group meets the second Thursday of the month at 1 p.m.: