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Events & Opportunities: We are kicking off exciting events as the new year starts. Make sure you are staying engaged with Community Justice! Sign up for our emails and join our community by emailing us at [email protected].
Next Coalition Meeting: The INVEST IN US Coalition consists of national and local gun violence prevention organizations committed to building support to fund evidence-based community solutions to end gun violence and educate leaders and the general public about proactive solutions to make our communities safer. At these meetings we discuss federal and state affairs for gun violence prevention in communities of color, including strategy for Congressional appropriations, funding, and legislative events.
This coalition meets monthly and will resume monthly meetings in January starting this Thursday, January 11th at 3pm EST . If you would like to join this coalition please email us at [email protected] [[email protected]] .
C ommunity Justice and CDC Briefing The Role of Research in Gun Violence Prevention:
Thursday, January 18, 2024 1:30 – 3 pm EST: Moderated by Derrick Gervin, PhD, MSW, Acting Senior Advisor to the Director and Acting Associate Director for Program Implementation and Evaluation of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) Chico Tillmon, PhD, University of Chicago Crime Lab, as a credible messenger to the street outreach community, will discuss the importance of violence prevention to those who are closest to the work. Shani Buggs, PhD, MPH, UC Davis, will discuss the movement to increase representation of Black researchers in the field. Jorja Leap, PhD, UCLA, will discuss her role running the crosssite evaluation of the White House Community Violence Intervention Collaborative.
Register for the webinar here: [link removed] [[link removed]]
Volunteer Opportunities :
Join our online community! If you’re interested in staying up to date with Community Justice efforts, news on the effects of gun violence and ways that you can help combat gun violence in our society, please like our Facebook page [[link removed]] and follow us on Instagram [[link removed]] and Twitter [[link removed]] . Learn more about issues and solutions that affect our community and aid in our fight to end gun violence.
State & Federal Legislative Updates
Federal Appropriations: Last November, Congress passed a short-term funding resolution to extend government funding through January 19, 2024 for certain agencies, and February 2, 2024 for the rest - including DOJ and HHS. With less than 2 weeks until the first deadline, many are unsure whether Congress can fund the first set of appropriations bills by then. Speaker Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) just reached a deal yesterday on topline numbers for the appropriations legislation, and under this $1.7 trillion agreement, $773 billion for non-defense spending, which includes gun violence prevention and intervention. Now, House and Senate appropriations committees have to race to resolve differences between their versions of the appropriations bills.
The Senate’s Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) appropriations bill includes $55 million for DOJ’s Community-based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative - which provides funding to local community-based organizations to implement or expand community violence intervention and prevention programs to reduce gun violence. Community Justice along with the Invest in Us Coalition will go full force ahead to advocate for the inclusion of this program in the final CJS bill for FY24.
Congressional Earmarks: Each year, groups such as non-profits can submit a community project funding (earmark) request to their Congressional representative or Senator as an opportunity to receive direct funding from Congress. The Fiscal Year 2025 earmarks process will start early this year, so it’s important that local community violence intervention and prevention organizations prepare to submit their request to their Rep. and Senator. While some Members have released their earmarks submission form to the public, most have yet to upload it on their website. However, we encourage you to call your Representative or contact us to stay up to date on that timeline/process.
State Legislative Sessions: Many state legislatures are ramping up and considering legislation- including Maryland that starts this week! We will be on the ground and working with policymakers on all levels of government to support comprehensive gun violence reduction plans and public safety efforts. Stay tuned for calls to action from CJ and our partners on the ground.
Policy Updates
Legislation: Last month, Members of Congress introduced legislation to support community-based violence intervention and prevention and honor the victims of the mass shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Senator. Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.) introduced the Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act [[link removed]] in their respective chambers. This bill would create a new grant program to provide $120 million per year for community-based violence intervention and prevention programs.Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), along with Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) introduced a resolution [[link removed]] to honor the victims of the mass shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on December 6, 2023.
National Policy & Advocacy Summit and Lobby Day:
April 16, 2024: Advocacy & Policy Summit - Our summit will convene advocates, survivors, CVI frontline workers, thought leaders, policymakers, and influencers from diverse sectors for dynamic discussions and trainings. Attendees will learn about organizing, policy, and advocacy solutions with a laser focus on gun violence intervention and prevention in communities of color.
April 17, 2024: Lobby Day - The second day will be dedicated to advocating for policies that foster investments in our collective future - with efforts that will be led by lobbying on Capitol Hill. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with key decision-makers, share insights, and contribute to shaping gun violence prevention policies and ongoing advocacy efforts that will have a lasting impact.
Community Justice and Partners
Policymakers for Peace: Last month, Community Justice unveiled the 2023 Class of Policymakers For Peace [[link removed]] , a nonpartisan, national network of state and local Black and brown elected officials dedicated to transformative policy efforts in gun violence prevention, particularly in communities of color disproportionately affected by this epidemic. These policymakers are set to lead the charge in reshaping the dialogue around gun violence prevention, advocating for community violence intervention (CVI) programs and spotlighting solutions that center those closest to the pain of everyday gun violence.This group of policymakers includes people on all levels of government, and this year they will continue to get ongoing policy and advocacy support from CJ, our partners and local groups on the ground as a part of our monthly convenings. If you are a policymaker and interested in joining our national network, please email us at [email protected] [[email protected]] .
Safer States Initiative and State legislative Summit at the White House: Community Justice attended the first ever White House summit on gun violence prevention specifically for State Legislators. Click here to read [[link removed]] more about this exciting endeavor.
State Legislatures have already started or are starting soon. Stay tuned for more information on ways to get involved in this session in key states!
Violence Prevention Index: Last year we launched the Community Justice’s City Violence Prevention Index (VPI) [[link removed]] - it is a first-of-its-kind national examination of local violence prevention programs, services, and policies. The VPI also represents the first national examination of local offices of violence prevention, including the details of their core functions. This inaugural edition assessed the 50 U.S. cities that experienced the highest incidents of gun violence in 2021, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. In 2024 we will launch our second edition where we will look at the top 100 cities in the country.
News of Interest
Chicago community violence intervention program shown to reduce gun violence [[link removed]]
New research shows large reductions in gun violence involvement for participants of a Chicago-based community violence intervention (CVI) program.
Researchers from Northwestern University evaluated outcomes for the Chicago CRED (Create Real Economic Destiny) program and found that those who completed the full program were more than 73% less likely to have an arrest for a violent crime in the two years following enrollment compared to individuals who did not participate.
Indianapolis leaders say violence reduction plan is working [[link removed]]
Indianapolis leaders credit the city’s collaborative, community-based tactics for the 2023 dip in criminal homicides. That number dropped to 171 criminal homicides in 2023, down nearly 19 percent [[link removed].] from 2022, and leaders announced they will continue to invest in the $150 million dollar violence reduction plan [[link removed]] they launched in 2021.
Community Violence Intervention: Denise Villamil and Southern California Crossroads [[link removed]]
Denise Villamil is the executive director of Southern California Crossroads, an organization that focuses on providing safety and healing to individuals who have been affected by gun violence in their communities. Along with Denise, program staff at Crossroads are viewed as credible messengers because they often have grown up in the same communities they now serve and pull from their own lived experiences to connect with individuals who are experiencing violence-related trauma.

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