The unsung heroes of Oakland’s drastic decline in gun homicides. Gun violence is a health crisis. More policing isn’t the solution – it lies with communities themselves
In California, a winning year for fairness and safety policy
Posted November 27, 2019
2019 Successes in Sacramento:
Great work this year by several California legislators has made us all safer, by addressing such issues as police use of force, the staggering inequity in which young people of color get suspended at school, the length of time traumatized victims have to apply for compensation to aid their healing, and the level of funding for life-saving violence intervention programs like Youth ALIVE!’s Caught in the Crossfire.
At Youth ALIVE!, we believe in approaching daily violence as a public health conundrum, not a criminal justice one. We believe the scourge and trauma of violence can be permanently reduced by bringing to bear a combination of science, healthcare, compassion and community, to prevent, to heal, and to make high rates of violence in our cities a thing of the past. Our just-released annual report, A Movement Rising: The Health Approach to Reducing Violence, summarizes the most recent results Youth ALIVE!’s violence prevention, intervention and healing programs have achieved in the lives of young people, with your help.
Even when they’re sharing their expertise on critical topics, like how violence affects their communities and how to prevent violence, the voice of youth is a refreshing sound. On August 7th, KALW’s Your Call Radio with Rose Aguilar invited Teens on Target on the air for a discussion about what youth are doing to prevent violence in the Bay Area. Of course, as we know, they’re doing a lot. TNT youth educators are teaching violence prevention workshops in Oakland middle schools, speaking to activists in Washington, informing civic and community leaders about life in East Oakland and generally just showing that young people care about their city.
Hard to believe, given the repeated bloodshed occurring in cities all over the United States, but in reality, violent crime rates have fallen across the country and in the Bay Area. There are many theories as to why. Here in Oakland, while we still suffer too much gun violence, too much death and devastation, there are many great community-based programs and agencies that have contributed to our current lower homicide and shooting rate. The citizens of Oakland deserve a lot of the credit, for taking it on themselves to vote in favor of a property tax back in 2004 (Measure Y, later renewed as Measure Z) to fund public safety and violence prevention efforts. Some of that revenue has gone to law enforcement approaches to violence reduction, like Ceasefire. But much more has helped create and sustain the kind of community-based violence prevention efforts that get to the root causes of violence, that seek to help victims heal, that are designed to create long-term safety and peace. That’s where Youth ALIVE! comes in. We believe lasting peace comes through prevention, intervention and healing delivered to the community by the community. A series underway by the excellent online publication The Trace is examining the current phenomenon of lower violent crime rates. It’s worth reading.
Sometimes you just have to take time out to assess and appreciate your progress. Last week, we took a brief break from the hard work of preventing and overcoming violence to celebrate how far our clients have come and to express our appreciation to the social workers of Highland Hospital, who we work with to support victims of violence in Oakland. Over a delicious dinner and the sounds of happy chatter, laughter and Game 6 at Oakland’s Blind Tiger Restaurant, Youth ALIVE! and the Office of Senator Nancy Skinner honored 15 graduating seniors in our Teens on Target program, two of the amazing moms we work with whose sons were homicide victims, and 8 young clients working hard to recover – not just physically, but emotionally – from shootings and other life setbacks. They keep a positive spirit; they refuse to quit. And they inspire our staff every day. Given what so many of our clients are up against in life, whether they are recovering from being shot, grieving a loved one lost to the gun or navigating daily life in a neighborhood beset by gun violence, we are consistently awed by their strength, resilience and love. Ajahnay Cooper, one of our TNT graduates from Castlemont High School in East Oakland, was the keynote speaker. Ajahnay is on her way to Sacramento State University in August. We presented her with a surprise $1,000 scholarship from an anonymous donor. We thank that donor and our event sponsors, including Gallagher and Burk, Ernst & Young, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, AT&T, Boston Properties, Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety. Thank you, friends!
In a new series introduced this week, The Guardian will be examining the causes and effects of the decline in violent crime in the Bay Area, and especially in Oakland. It’s a complex issue and we’re looking forward to their analysis. Youth ALIVE! Executive Director Anne Marks is quoted in the inaugural article. Read it here.
