No Violence Alliance (NoVA)

The No Violence Alliance (NoVA) provides comprehensive reentry services and intensive case management to individuals returning to San Francisco and the Bay Area from jail or prison.

Since 2006, NoVA has partnered with the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office to help formerly incarcerated individuals rebuild their lives. The program provides violence prevention, housing support, employment readiness, and behavioral health services. NoVA’s mission is simple but powerful: to reduce recidivism by providing the structure, stability, and community support that make lasting change possible.

NoVA provides a continuum of care connecting participants with trusted community partners and service providers. Each client works with a dedicated case manager to build a personalized plan that supports their reentry into the community. NoVA case managers maintain small caseloads (12 – 18 clients) and are accessible ²⁴⁄₇ to their clients, ensuring consistent guidance and accountability. This intensive case management approach allows individuals to establish community connections and achieve lasting reintegration.

Core Services

• Violence prevention education and accountability programs
• Family reunification and relationship support
• Safe and stable housing assistance
• Substance use disorder (SUD) treatment
• Employability and employment skills training
• Access to medical and behavioral health services
  
• Transportation and basic needs support

NoVA’s strength lies in its collaborative model, which brings together city agencies and community-based organizations to deliver wraparound services.

Collaborative partners include:

• CJCJ
• Citywide Forensic Program
• Mission Council on Alcohol Abuse for the Spanish Speaking
• Recovery Survival Network
• San Francisco Pretrial Diversion
• San Francisco Sheriff’s Department
• Senior Ex-Offender Program, Bayview Hunters Point Senior Services
• Resolve to Stop the Violence Project

Together, these partners ensure clients receive consistent, coordinated support that addresses the root causes of violence, poverty, and instability.

NoVA is a voluntary program open to motivated individuals who want to make positive changes in their lives.

Eligibility:

• Individuals currently in San Francisco County Jail may submit an inmate request for a NoVA interview.
• Individuals released from San Francisco County Jail or state prison within the past year may walk in for an initial assessment at any of these San Francisco locations:
• 424 Guerrero Street, Suite A
• 567 7^th Street
• 70 Oak Grove Avenue
  

CJCJ Contact:
Gerald Miller, Director of Community-Based Services
Tel: (415) 621‑5661 ext. 100
Fax: (415) 621‑5466
gerald@​cjcj.​org

NoVA was created in 2006 by CJCJ, community partners, and the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office in response to growing national concern about repeat violent offenses and high rates of recidivism. At the time, nearly 65% of individuals from California prisons were returning within three years of release (CDCR, 2011). NoVA provides meaningful, community-based alternatives to incarceration. The program’s success led San Francisco to expand NoVA to serve all returning individuals, rather than constructing an additional jail.

Independent evaluations of NoVA show participants are significantly less likely to recidivate. A 2007 study by Pendergrass & Associates and LaFrance Associates found these positive results. A 2009 follow-up study similarly concluded that only 36% of NoVA clients were rearrested, compared with 68% of those in a comparable group.

Recognizing that incarceration alone could not solve the cycle of violence and poverty, Today, NoVA continues to model effective reentry through compassion, accountability, and collaboration. We help hundreds of people each year achieve stability, reunite with family, and reintegrate safely into their communities.