On the Front Lines: Elevating the Voices of Violence Intervention Workers

John—

Years ago, I was working in Compton, California, as a community violence intervention worker. One night we came across a man named Trayvon, who my boss knew well, and we pulled our van over to chat for a while.

I was new to the job, and I couldn’t figure out why we were talking to Trayvon for so long—after all, we were supposed to be looking for dangerous or violent situations. I grew frustrated by the time we were wasting with Trayvon.

As we were about to leave, Trayvon pulled out a gun and said, “Damn, I’m glad you came by because I was on my way to go shoot this fool that disrespected me. God must have sent you guys. I’m just gonna go home and go to sleep.”

That conversation is just one example of what community violence intervention work can look like.

CVI groups like Chicago CRED provide critical lifelines in impacted neighborhoods.

Community violence intervention (CVI), which involves individuals from a community intervening with those at the highest risk of violence, is critically important—but it’s also dangerous and underfunded.

Over the summer, Giffords Law Center and our partners surveyed 200 CVI workers in four cities across the country to better understand the support they receive, their resource needs, and the mental health impact of their job. Alongside focus groups we conducted, these survey results have formed the basis of our latest report, On the Front Lines: Elevating the Voices of Violence Intervention Workers.

President Biden has proposed a groundbreaking $5 billion investment in CVI programs and workers in the Build Back Better Act. Giffords and our partners are doing everything in our power to ensure this funding becomes law.

As gun violence continues to rise in cities across the country, we cannot abandon this consequential work and the heroic individuals who risk their lives each and every day. We hope that this report is useful in supporting the workers whose experiences are reflected in its pages. I hope you’ll take a look.

With gratitude,
Paul

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Paul Carrillo
Community Violence Initiative Director
Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence

For over 25 years, the legal experts at Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence have been fighting for a safer America. Led by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Giffords Law Center researches, drafts, and defends the laws, policies, and programs proven to save lives from gun violence.

Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
268 Bush St. #555
San Francisco, CA 94104

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