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Published Date:
Mar 13, 2025
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Interrupting Violence Should Be Irresistibly Investable
When we think of violence—whether emotional or physical—the focus is often on its devastating human impact. But have you ever thought about the price tag attached to it? Not metaphorically, but in dollars and cents. We did and decided to measure it.
Behind every case of violence lies a staggering cost, not just to individuals but to society as a whole.
We collected data from 25,686 clinical behavioral health cases where 6,636 cases involved violence -- either physical, sexual and/or abuse from mental and emotional – or from individuals who experienced all of the above.
The data shows it loud and clear: violence is expensive to treat clinically and its eventual outcomes are poor as a percentage of treatments instances. Specifically, the cost of clinical treatment we measured was $554 million, or $83,484 for each individual who experienced it.
Yet here’s the twist; it's also solvable – and far less costly -- by interrupting it before it becomes clinical sick care. That’s not just an ethical necessity, it’s a commonsense investment in population health.
The Hidden Bill of Violence
Imagine this: a single case of violence doesn’t end, or finish with clinical behavioral healthcare, when the immediate crisis is over. It spirals outward, leaving behind unpaid bills in healthcare, legal systems, mental health services, and lost productivity. Let’s break it down.
Our numbers tell a stark story. Clinical records on treating physical violence with clinical care alone after it occurs isn’t effective for most.
Suboptimal outcomes—where victims struggle over long periods to recover, results in lost costs of over $126 million in our sample. For sexual abuse, the price paid for suboptimal results is nearly $115 million. These are just two categories, yet they represent hundreds of thousands of days spent on care and resources.
Even in less immediately visible forms of violence, like emotional or mental abuse, the disparity is stark. For mental abuse cases alone, the cost of suboptimal clinical outcomes reaches over $152 million, with victims spending over 329,000 days in care—time that could have been shortened with earlier intervention or eliminated with prevention.
But here’s the key takeaway: a substantial amount of this cost is avoidable. Yes, you read that right. Violence doesn’t just happen—it grows in spaces where prevention and intervention are underfunded or where clinical care isn't reaching.
The ROI of Violence Prevention – Can it scale?
What if, instead of reacting to violence after it happens, we intercepted it before it snowballed? What if we shifted resources toward programs that interrupt violence altogether? Investing in solutions that interrupt violence—whether through early education, trauma mitigation programs, or long-term support for at-risk victims—doesn’t just save lives. It saves money.
For every dollar spent on addressing violence at its root, the return on investment is enormous. Fewer hospital visits, fewer nights in shelters, fewer cases clogging the courts. Each optimal outcome—each life brought back from the brink—isn’t just a moral victory. It’s a financial one too.
Flipping the Narrative
When we talk about violence, the conversation is often bleak. But it doesn’t have to be. The data suggests a brighter possibility: what if we saw violence prevention as an asset class? Think about it. Investors pour money into startups, hoping to see returns. What if we poured resources into programs that create stronger, safer communities at scale? What if we developed a technological infrastructure that connected every community agency, every local government and clinical care in a central network to mitigate it? This is entirely doable and its return on investment is indisputable.
Interrupting violence isn’t just about helping individuals. It’s about creating a society where every dollar spent brings exponential returns in health, productivity, and potential. It’s a system-level solution to a system-level problem.
Invest in Interrupting Violence
The numbers speak for themselves. Every dollar we don’t invest in violence prevention today will cost us tenfold tomorrow. If we’re going to pay the price of violence, why not pay upfront to stop it, rather than covering the tab for the aftermath?
Interrupting violence is investable. It’s the kind of opportunity we can’t afford to ignore—for the economy, for our communities, and for every person whose life could be forever changed by the right intervention at the right time.
Can we face the question of whether we can afford to interrupt violence, or not?
We’ll be watching.
Let's Talk. Jump on my calendar to discuss your case for optimal care and AI risk determination.
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Ed DeShields is Chairman of Community Assurance, a consolidated holding company that includes HealthIT companies including YOUU Health’s platform, the YOUUniverse, that helps communities build their own private, local care networks without the usual barriers that make it hard to understand patient results, risks, access, and cost.
We put the power back in the hands of team care by offering a simple, connected platform that leads to more responsible, member-focused care.
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