Peace For DC’s Post

Cleveland Peacemakers is a grassroots community violence intervention (CVI) organization organized to save lives. We engage with young people ages 14-24 who are the highest risk of shooting or being shot. Interventions include, court advocacy and support, hospital-based violence intervention programs, employment opportunities, and mental health services. Cleveland Peacemakers deploys street outreach workers, “credible messengers,” who help mediate conflicts to prevent shootings, provide immediate crisis response, and connect high-risk young people to community resources to promote long-term support and stabilization. These interventions work to prevent violence before it happens and de-escalate conflict before it potentially turns fatal. We build healthy and safe communities. https://lnkd.in/gQNWPtRA

We are heartened to hear the new Government's commitment to halve Violence Against and Women and Girls in the King's Speech yesterday. Our CEO Cherryl Henry-Leach responds to Labour's statement with a call for a whole system approach to effectively create positive change, including: - A clear delivery plan that keeps the safety of victims and survivors central to its development.  - Investment in the sector so that vital support provided by specialist organisations is sustained.  - Access to Justice will not re-traumatise victim-survivors and they experience trauma-informed support at every stage from disclosure - Improvements to the NHS include a Coordinated Community Response to health and domestic abuse. - Expectation that all education settings respond appropriately to domestic abuse and actively promote and teach healthy relationships. - Reduce homelessness, recognising domestic abuse as a lead cause, whilst protecting survivors and guaranteeing victims' rights. Read the full blog post at https://lnkd.in/eNT8agYr

On the fourth day of Commerce, we’re sharing the impactful work of our Community Services Division! Their efforts are expansive, including Community Economic Opportunities, the Developmental Disabilities Council, Office of Crime Victims Advocacy, Special Initiatives, the Statewide Reentry Council and notably: the Office of the Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention/Community Safety Unit (OFSVP/CSU). Established in 2021, OSFVP/CSU champions violence reduction policies, strategies, and programs across Washington state. Their collaborative approach involves working closely with policymakers, public health officials, government entities, law enforcement agencies, researchers, tribal partners, non-profit community organizations and individual community members. The mission of OFSVP/CSU is comprehensive, addressing all facets of firearm violence, involving suicide, domestic violence, and community gun violence. Suicide, in particular, remains a pressing concern, with 1,872 deaths recorded in Washington state between 2019 and 2021. We’re making strides toward a safer and more secure community. Join us in supporting the tireless efforts of OFSVP/CSU and the entire Community Services Division as they actively contribute to the well-being of everyone in Washington. Together, we can build a safer, healthier and more connected future!

"The evidence is clear: Community-based violence intervention works. Cities that have invested in effective, comprehensive, community violence intervention and prevention strategies have seen decreases in gun violence and recidivism rates....philanthropic support is crucial to grow proof-of-concept programs into proven operations that cities — and the country — can fully embrace." This is what it looks like when funders use their platform to validate and elevate the work happening in community! Thank you, Ford Foundation, Darren Walker, and our partner in the work, david rogers. They didn't miss with this funder call-to-arms: "The holistic nature of community safety makes it ripe for contributions from funders in public health, education, economic and workforce development, housing, youth opportunity and beyond." https://lnkd.in/eTz_e4eu

A big part of ending gun violence is empowering CVI leaders and organizations. #Repost Center for American Progress ・・・ Advocates for community violence intervention (CVI) programs are promoting peace by addressing the basic needs of their communities and building foundations of trust. Their stories show us CVI programs lead to holistic transformation in our neighborhoods, communities, and cities. #storytelling #CVI #endgunviolence #gunviolence #community #violence

Religious leaders and CBOs serve as pillars of support and catalysts for positive change in our communities. Their roles in promoting peace, security, and development is far-fetching, promoting advocacy, education, social services, conflict resolution, and community mobilization. Collaboratively, we can contribute significantly to building resilient, inclusive, and thriving communities. #gifghana #enhancingasustainablesociety

#ICYMI 📌 Reporter’s Outtakes: How a Local CVI Program Won Outside Help. 🗞️ Read more about how federal grants paved the way for a mid-sized city's long-term success. Learn how, Community violence intervention (CVI) covers a host of strategies, both policing and community-based. All aim to steer likely perpetrators and victims onto safer ground through such approaches as conflict mediation, counseling, trauma care and, in the case of law enforcement, using the threat of incarceration to push people into the services that will change their ways.  When aqeela sherrills and the Community Based Public Safety Collective were selected to manage a privately funded incubator for community-based violence intervention programs, coordinated by the White House during the early months of the Biden administration, Baton Rouge found itself in an advantageous position to receive training and technical support from the White House initiative. This initiative, the Community Violence Intervention Collaborative, initially ran for 18 months across 16 cities with a modest $7.4 million budget from private philanthropy. However, with two of its donors extending their support into a five-year program with approximately $30 million in funding, Baton Rouge once again benefited from its partnership with Sherrills. As a result, it became one of the inaugural four cities in the Coalition to Advance Public Safety (CAPS), a planned 12-city experiment. Delve into the article to uncover how the Community Based Public Safety Collective is leading the charge. 🫱🏼🫲🏽✨ Article Courtesy of Mark Obbie Read Full Article: https://lnkd.in/eMv9zZ2Y #CommunitySafety #CVI #PublicSafety #publichealth #cbpsc #redefiningpublicsafety #violenceprevention

#ICYMI 📌 Transforming Community Safety: How Newark's Approach is Leading the Way From mentoring youth to mediating conflicts, the NCST Newark Community Street Team (NCST) embodies a revolutionary model of community-based violence intervention (CVI). As homicides decrease by over 50% 📉 Newark proves the power of investing in trusted messengers and proactive social services. It's time to reimagine public safety, with CVI at its core. Let's acknowledge NCST's impactful work, made possible in part by the generous support of the Ford Foundation for their commitment to funding change. Read Full Article: https://lnkd.in/ef8542Gq #CommunitySafety #cvi #EmpowerChange #ncst #CommunityIntervention #safestreets #CommunitySafety #publicsafety #PublicHealth #newark

HAC’s response to the Supreme Court’s opinion City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson The Homeless Action Center (HAC) unequivocally opposes today’s decision where the Supreme Court issued a cruel 6-3 opinion in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson et al allowing states and cities to punish unhoused people who are sleeping outside even if they have no place to go. The decision permits local municipalities to fine and imprison unhoused individuals simply for being unhoused. At a time when homelessness is at an all-time high and affordable housing is woefully inaccessible and unavailable, it is sickening to see the highest court in the land empower local governments to criminalize community members for merely existing. Justice Sotomayor wrote a strong and compassionate dissent: “Sleep is a biological necessity, not a crime. For some people, sleeping outside is their only option. The City of Grants Pass jails and fines those people for sleeping anywhere in public at any time, including in their cars, if they use as little as a blanket to keep warm or a rolled-up shirt as a pillow. For people with no access to shelter, that punishes them for being homeless. That is unconscionable and un-constitutional. Punishing people for their status is “cruel and unusual” under the Eighth Amendment.” Cities can now use this ruling to offer no services to those sleeping outside but instead bring in cops to force them to go elsewhere, even though there is no place elsewhere available. Using law enforcement in this manner is traumatizing for unhoused people. Sweeps of encampments cause people to lose property and documents that they need to get out of homelessness as well as to lose contact with community and service providers. Further, weighing people down with fines and a criminal record will only make it harder for them to get into housing. Notably, this ruling will have a disproportionate impact on BIPOC individuals and communities. According to the point in time count , 70% of those experiencing homelessness in Oakland are black, and thus the racial impact of this decision will be disparate and devastating. To be clear: Criminalizing an unhoused individual for existing does nothing to address any of the root causes of homelessness; instead, it only traumatizes and harms an already marginalized and vulnerable population while creating even more barriers for them to obtain stability. A carte blanche on sweeps may temporarily clear encampments, but will ultimately only increase homelessness and all of the concerns this ruling purports to address.

**Partners In Hope: Leap of Faith - A Skydive for Unity 🪂** In an unprecedented move towards community cohesion, police officers and the formerly incarcerated will come together on August 19th, 2023, in Jefferson, Wisconsin. This is more than a skydive – it's a symbol of our commitment at Partners In Hope to bridge divides and foster understanding. This full-day event, beyond the thrilling dive, underscores the value of dialogue, trust, and unity. But we need your support. Every contribution helps us achieve our $50,000 target, with WeRaise Foundation matching an additional $20,000 upon reaching our goal. This isn't just about funding an event, but also supporting the transformative work of the Partners In Hope reentry program. Learn more, support, and be a part of this transformative journey: https://lnkd.in/gk8vb8dW #LeapOfFaith #PartnersInHope #CommunityUnity #SkyDiving #BridgingDivides