Better Family Life
St. Louis Metropolitan Area Gun Violence De-Escalation Centers Pilot Evaluation

Project Date
Aug 2017 – Jul 2020
Type of Evaluation
Planning, Process
Setting
Community-based
Overview
Better Family Life, Inc. provides holistic solutions to issues that commonly threaten the sustainability of families through: 1) employment training and placement, 2) education, 3) housing and asset development, 4) community outreach, and 5) youth, family and clinical services.
The Evaluation Center is partnering with Better Family Life to evaluate the pilot of their St. Louis Metropolitan Area (SLMA) Gun Violence De-Escalation Centers. The De-Escalation Centers focus on preventing gun violence through effective community and family engagement and tailored conflict resolution.
Project Description
Background
The St. Louis Metropolitan Area (SLMA) De-Escalation Centers were launched by the Better Family Life (BFL) Community Outreach Department in 2017. They were launched in response to high gun violence rates in the St. Louis region and the growing number of requests from families for intervention and mediation to de-escalate situations to prevent them from turning violent. The three-year process evaluation focuses on the design and implementation of the De-Escalation Centers to guide and inform future scale-up and replication strategies.
Evaluation Center Activities
- Develop De-Escalation Centers logic model and evaluation plan
- Document De-Escalation strategy model
- Develop data collection, systems and analysis protocols
- Implement evaluation plan including collecting both quantitative and qualitative data
- Analyze and report findings using a variety of audience-appropriate dissemination strategies
Our Products
- Logic model and evaluation plan
- De-Escalation Center model documentation
- Quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments
- Data management system
- Training documentation
- Reports and other dissemination products
St. Louis Metropolitan Area Gun Violence De-Escalation Centers Pilot Project 2020- Executive Summary
Community Impact Measurement Findings 2021- Executive Summary
Project Funder
Missouri Foundation for Health