Office of Violence Prevention - Green Bay. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Just two years after it was created — and three months after it opened its first permanent office location — Green Bay’s Office of Violence Prevention will begin to wind down.
In a news release Wednesday, city leaders cited “an uncertain state and federal funding landscape” in their decision to close the office.
OVP was created in 2023 with $1 million in federal pandemic relief funds that were administered through the Medical College of Wisconsin.
The office was created in response to a rise in gun violence that peaked in 2021. However, city officials say shots-fired reports decreased from 82 in 2021 to 24 in 2024, a nearly 71% decrease. Homicides fell by two-thirds from 2023 to 2024 and overdoses decreased by 63%. The city also says property crimes reached a 10-year low in 2024.
OVP offered coaching that helped people recognize emotional and behavioral triggers that led them to violence. The office on Irwin Avenue also offered resources for youth development, life skills and creative expression for people deemed to be at risk of being involved in violence.
Last month, OVP spent a week on initiatives meant to revitalize and improve quality of life along the Western Avenue corridor.
While OVP programming will end this summer, its funding covers the rest of 2025. Director Andrea Kressin will remain on staff through the end of the year to evaluate how initiatives may continue through the city government.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the city council voted to accept an $18,562 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Justice for police officers to participate in a training program called Roca Rewire4. According to the company’s website, Rewire4 “introduces law enforcement to the basics of brain science, the impact of trauma on the brain, and how it affects behaviors and life-long patterns.”
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