Youth ALIVE!, National Network of Hospital Based Violence Intervention (NNHVIP), and peer programs like Cure Violence joined together to talk violence as a public health issue in a recent Pacific Standard article on gun violence and the search for a cure:
New California Law Increases Victim Access to Help
Posted November 5, 2018
YA! Legislative Advocacy Update
Dymond Garrett and other TNT Youth Leaders in Sacramento
Even as Washington grows more hostile to newcomers and people of color, the State of California continues to increase fairness and access to critical support and services.
TNT kicked off the new school year by doing what it does best – making connections. Recruitment started in early September for both our Fremont and Castlemont high school sites and consisted of tabling, pizza parties, lunchtime enlistments, and classroom visits to spread the word. Initial turnout for the program exceeded all expectations – interviews numbered in the high double digits and we are seeing more than fifty students regularly attend our afterschool sessions.
Youth ALIVE!’s Ricardo Garcia-Acosta was a guest on KALW’s Your Call with Rose Aguilar recently, for a panel discussion of community-based efforts to increase safety and prevent violence. Ricardo joined Rose and James Favel, founder of Bear Clan Patrol, a Winnipeg-based group that supports people in need and helps then find missing loved ones. Ricardo had some fantastic things to say about the needs of our clients in a time of change for Oakland. “Jobs save lives. Jobs stop bullets. Folks feel like they have to hustle because they don’t fit into this city that’s changing. We need to find ways to get them the skills they need to tap into the growth of the city.” He also spoke to the need for everyone to contribute, to “step outside your comfort zone and do something.” Listen to the whole fascinating conversation here.
The report we release today, Listening to Our Youth: From Parkland to Oakland, lists results from all of our programs. It includes two very frank and very honest stories from two of the young people we work with, stories that perfectly express the resilience and hope that sustain them against the terrible barriers of violence and inequality they face every day.
There’s more than one way to change the world. The East Oakland students who started our Teens on Target youth leadership program back in 1989 sought to create a safer community through two approaches: education and advocacy. Today, TNT youth leaders continue to influence the policymakers and community leaders on issues like gun violence and police-community relations. Youth ALIVE! has an advocacy arm that works to design and pass legislation to increase safety and equality an d to promote healing. We also work with our partners in the National Network of Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs to fight for justice and safety. This month, Governor Brown signed into law a bill we had worked throughout the year to pass, AB 1639 (E. Garcia) Victim Compensation Fund Expansion. Until now, any victim of a violent crime accused or suspected of being affiliated with a gang was ineligible for victim compensation. These funds are absolutely crucial to victims in a time of great emotional and economic stress. To deny them without due process was to perpetuate the pain and interrupt the healing each person deserves. It is this healing that we and many others believe can prevent future violence. We thank Fathers & Families of San Joaquin, the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, Policylink, California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and others for their leadership on this issue. We’ll continue to work in upcoming legislative sessions to pass bills on police transparency. One bill seeks more openness when police forces acquire military equipment. Another seeks the release of records of officers and prison guards being investigated for abuse. Read about the legislation on our radar.
