Our Mission

Our mission is to foster community-based strategies to help prevent violence and increase public safety. Our strategy is rooted in a public health approach to violence prevention, recognizing that reducing crime is not accomplished through law enforcement alone.

Our Story

The Safer, Stronger DC Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) was created to address violence in the District while assisting families dealing with the grief and trauma caused by these occurrences. As part of Mayor Bowser’s FY2018 Budget, and in compliance with the Neighborhood Engagement Achieves Results (NEAR) Act (PDF), ONSE was created to consolidate the work being done by the Safer, Stronger DC Community Partnerships Office (SSDCCP) and the Community Stabilization Program (CSP).

In October 2017, ONSE opened its office at 100 42nd Street, NE in Ward 7. In Spring of 2018, ONSE launched the first cohort of the Pathways program in partnership with CSOSA, DOES, and DYRS and issued its first Violence Intervention contracts to three community-based organizations.