Harris County Public Health outlines HEART, RISE violence‑prevention programs to Galena Park ISD SHAC

Harris County Public Health told Galena Park ISD’s School Health Advisory Council on Tuesday that two community‑based programs are designed to respond to nonviolent emergencies and link residents to services.

At the meeting, Stephanie Ramirez, a CHVPS presenter, said the Community Health and Violence Prevention Services Division runs HEART, an unarmed first‑responder program that responds to “non violent nine‑one‑one calls” and aims to address social determinants of health that drive violent outcomes. “We respond to non violent nine‑one‑one calls,” she said.

The nut graf: The presentation detailed how HEART and RISE work together — HEART as an on‑scene, two‑person unit (a crisis‑intervention specialist and a licensed EMT) that provides behavioral de‑escalation and basic life‑support care, and RISE as a community and hospital‑based team that uses credible messengers to prevent retaliation and link victims…