St. Paul Fire and Police Departments are collaborating with other program partners to establish a new curriculum and guidelines for emergency service personnel who are often a violence victim's first connection to the health care system. They are also instituting new systems for collecting and tracking information about violence-related incidents in order to improve communication among providers. Through telephone surveys, personal interviews and focus groups, W7CP has gathered information from members of the community about the violence issues that most concern them. Goals of the W7CP include raising awareness of violence issues, mobilizing and supporting community residents to act against violence and generating participation from all sectors of the community in violence prevention education and activities. The Salvation Army's Manna Van, an outreach service to the homeless population of St. Paul, began operating as a permanent program in May 1995.
Success is something that is measured on an individual basis.
To date, the hospital has provided more than 15 percent of the volunteers working with the Manna Van. The Salvation Army provides groceries to needy families in the West Seventh area of St. Paul. Each month, volunteers from United Hospital work alongside local senior citizens to bag and distribute groceries. Groceries are donated by the Second Harvest Food Bank. Go to the Salvation Army homepage.