News

Coming Home to Youth ALIVE!

Posted January 29, 2023

A Letter From Our New ED -

Dear Friends,

I am excited to greet you today as Youth ALIVE!’s new Executive Director. To be honest, this role feels much more like a homecoming for me than a totally new beginning. I joined the Youth ALIVE! family as a program coordinator way back in 2009 and have worked at and with YA! in a variety of capacities over the years. Now, in my new role, I am eager to continue the momentum Oakland’s anchor violence prevention agency has generated as a provider of prevention, intervention and healing for our community, and as a national leader in community violence prevention.

Announcing our new Executive Director

Posted December 21, 2022

Introducing Dr. Joseph Griffin

Dear Friends of Youth ALIVE!,

Today, we are writing to share the exciting news that our Board of Directors has appointed Youth ALIVE’s new Executive Director, Dr. Joseph Griffin, DrPH, MPH, in a unanimous vote. This hire comes after an extensive search process.

YA! Names New Executive Director

Posted December 21, 2022

Berkeley DrPH is YA!’s New ED -

Oakland’s nationally recognized, anchor community organization for violence prevention, intervention and healing appoints the third permanent Executive Director in its 31-year history

YA! Staff & Programs Bring the Holiday Love

Posted December 21, 2022

Pictures of Joy & Kindness -

Our staff and programs held numerous toy drives and holiday parties for our clients this year. Their events are supported by Youth ALIVE!, but the work they do to gather gifts and create fun holiday events is all voluntary. They know that our wounded neighbors and grieving families feel extra pain and stress when the holidays come, and so they seek to bring them a little relief and even a little joy. Here are some pictures from giveaways and events held by our Violence Interrupters, CiC and TNT staff, our Khadafy Washington Project and Counseling staff and the folks in Development.

Before the Alameda DA vote, important conversations

Posted December 13, 2022

Our DA Candidate Forum -

Partnering with our friends at Broken by Violence, Youth ALIVE! held an Alameda County District Attorney election forum at the Oakland Public Library in Rockridge. Policy and Advocacy Director Gabriel Garcia spoke with candidates Terry Wiley and Pamela Price about their visions for preventing gun violence and serving victims in Alameda County. Check out videos of the conversations on our Youth ALIVE! YouTube channel, or below -

We ask Biden to declare violence as a Public Health Emergency

Posted December 13, 2022

Our Letter to HHS Secretary Becerra -

Youth ALIVE! has long advocated for leaders and policymakers to view gun violence as a public health issue. We have called for the mustering of public health resources, approaches and expertise to reduce violence and heal the individual and community trauma violence causes and that, unattended, can lead to further violence. In November, Youth ALIVE!,  Mayor Libby Schaff, Roots Community Health Center, Moms Demand Action, Everytown for Gun Safety, the Community Justice Action Fund and the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention together signed a letter to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, imploring him to urge the Biden Administration to declare gun violence a national public health emergency. Read the text of the letter:

YA! Advocacy Director at DC Summit

Posted December 13, 2022

YA!’s National Profile Grows -

YA! Staff, Clients in NY Times, SF Chron, Guardian -

Posted October 13, 2022

YA! in Times, Chronicle, Guardian

In an October 5th, 2022, article, The Guardian considers new FBI statistics on homicides and looks specifically at recent killings in Oakland, speaking with survivors Youth ALIVE! is working with.

Youth ALIVE! Staff Speak on Oakland Violence

Posted October 5, 2022

Media, Leaders turn to Youth ALIVE! -

The last two weeks have been particularly trying for Oakland. All of Youth ALIVE!’s resources have been deployed in the community to support students, families, teachers, and schools, to mitigate further violence, and bring the community together to heal.

Healed People Heal People

Posted August 22, 2022

Youth ALIVE!’s Annual Report 2021-2022 -

Filled with stories, pictures and program results, this year’s report is really all about the difficult task of healing after violence, and the many things our programs and staff do to help people and our city heal. Because we know that, while violence leads to more violence, healing is also contagious. We see it every day; as our clients who came to us traumatized by an act of violence begin to regain their health and wholeness, they begin to help others do the same. Healed people heal people. Those are the stories you will find in this report from our staff, so many of whom have themselves been hurt by gun violence.