In Capitol Weekly, Youth ALIVE! Policy & Advocacy Manager Gabriel Garcia breaks down why the state of California must increase violence prevention funding in the face of a historic increase in violence across the state. Because the life-saving and cost-saving benefits of violence prevention programs have been documented through both academic research and the direct experience of clients and staff who see the difference this work has in their own lives and in their communities, the need to support these programs has become undeniable. Read his piece here -Historic spike in gun violence demands response from Newsom
Youth ALIVE! is Oakland’s anchor community organization for violence prevention, intervention, and healing. Our community of staff, volunteers, youth leaders, and clients include Oakland community members directly impacted by violence and/or incarceration. From our unique perspective, we see Oakland’s Reimagining Public Safety process as a valuable opportunity to uplift what real public safety looks like for community members experiencing the least safety. We have three top priorities:
Youth ALIVE! created the nation’s very first hospital-based violence intervention program, Caught in the Crossfire (CiC), in 1993. Now a new White House Executive Order will for the first time allow Medicaid to reimburse community programs like Youth ALIVE!’s, acknowledging their healing services to victims and proven effectiveness at preventing further violence. This comes on the heels of President Biden’s jobs bill, unveiled the week prior, that would support community-based violence prevention programs.
There is financial compensation available to victims of violence. It can make a major difference in their lives, covering funeral expenses, lost wages and counseling. But some who need it are not eligible. Victims of police violence, for one. Another ineligible group is families of certain homicide victims, many of whom are struggling financially. If the police say that their deceased loved one in some way contributed to the situation that led to his death, they are ineligible. Neither are they eligible if the police say they are being uncooperative in an investigation. The police have all the power, and the traumatized victims have very little recourse to appeal. Families find themselves unable to afford a proper funeral. Mothers are unable to properly morn their lost child. Absent this compensation, what are they to do? A new bill could end both of these injustices.
Violence Interrupter Morris Turner had Oakland in his bones. Born and raised in Brookfield Village, middle school at James Madison, high school at Castlemont. At Youth ALIVE!, his main focus was to increase the peace in Deep East Oakland. Morris worked for a time in construction, in home care, but the streets of the Town were calling. He admitted to causing trouble when he was young. But he was called for something different. For peace. For communication. “I’d been wanting to give back,” he said.
Unattended trauma is the virus that causes violence to spread. With great understanding and sensitivity, a March New York Times op-ed traced much of our nation’s gun violence – and even gun possession – to their roots in trauma and fear. In the article, authors Madison Armstrong and Jennifer Carlson, of the University of Arizona, lay out the reality of the aftermath of violence. “While gun trauma most certainly shapes the aftermath of shootings, it also shapes our day-to-day decisions and sensibilities far beyond specific acts of gun violence.” They make the connection between violence and trauma, how they can fuel each other, and how profoundly trauma can affect not only the individual victim’s behavior, but his or her entire community. “Gun violence entails immediate physical trauma, but it also elicits forms of trauma that can ricochet far beyond its initial target.” They point out several programs in the Unites States that recognize the prime role trauma plays in violence, and that seek to help reduce that trauma, through understanding and kindness. Among the programs they single out is Youth ALIVE!’s Khadafy Washington Project, or KWP. KWP crisis responders reach out to survivors of Oakland homicide victims immediately after a killing, to offer support, aid and comfort, to show shocked families, devastated mothers and children, that they are not alone. They help survivors take the first steps on their road to healing from the trauma they have suffered. They interrupt the cycle of trauma and violence at its most intense. KWP was founded by one of its crisis responders, Marilyn Washington Harris, and is named for her son, Khadafy, who was murdered in Oakland in 2000. Since then, Marilyn and KWP have helped hundreds of families in the difficult days and weeks after a violent death. Read: We’ve Spent Over a Decade Researching Guns in America. This is What We’ve Learned.
“For me, the first thing I think about are the shoulders of the women that I stand on. I think about my mother a lot. She was a young mother who came through some significant adversity in life, leaving school to help support her family after her mother died, and continued pushing to where she is now: a city council representative for her neighborhood in my home city of Swansea, Wales. Service to the community is something my grandparents really promoted. It was my family members who influenced me to go into public life and community advocacy, specifically raising up voices in the community. My mother eventually served as Lord Mayor of the City and County of Swansea. At 81, she is still serving her community and considered a valuable contributor to that community. She raised me to believe that I could do or be anything that I wanted. I came of age during the Women’s Movement, so I’ve walked this journey for some time, and really appreciate how it’s a different world for my children. My daughter and my son live in a world where so much more is possible. My greatest joy are my children and their success in following their passions. They are both committed to a life that includes service to community. Women have been doing the work in the community for as long as there has been work to do in the community.
“I was at Church yesterday; we have virtual worship on zoom. I made sure all the songs we did were by women, so we were honoring all our women. Women’s History Month is just as important as any other celebration. It’s like what James Brown says: It’s a man’s world but a man wouldn’t be anything without a woman.’ We would not be here without women.
