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Upcoming Events
Next Invest in Us 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 strategies for congressional appropriations, funding, and legislative events.
This coalition meets monthly . The next meeting will be on Thursday, May 16, at 3 PM EST . If you would like to join this coalition, please send us an email.
EMAIL US [[email protected]?subject=Request%20to%20Join%3A%20The%20INVEST%20IN%20US%20Coalition&body=I%27d%20like%20to%20join%20The%20INVEST%20IN%20US%20Coalition%21]
TAKE ACTION WITH OUR PARTNERS
Community Justice is happy to support our Invest In Us Texas partners, Big Mama’s Safe House , with their call to action to sign a letter of support for an increased investment in Community Violence Intervention Programming for Bexar County and San Antonio .
SIGN THE LETTER OF SUPPORT [[link removed]]
Tell NJ Legislators: Medicaid Can Help Prevent Violence
Equal Justice USA is asking New Jersey residents to urge the State Legislature to support S1407 and A4021, legislation that establishes a preventive services benefit in the state's Medicaid program. This critical legislation will enable violence prevention professionals to receive financial reimbursement through Medicaid, providing essential services to those at high risk of violence and victims of violence.
FILL OUT THE FORM [[link removed]]
APRIL RECAP
Advocacy Summit & Lobby Day 2024 – Earlier this month, Community Justice hosted its annual Policy & Advocacy Summit and Lobby Action Day in Washington, D.C. alongside Players Coalition, an athlete-led nonprofit organization committed to advocating for social justice and racial equity founded by NFL players Anquan Boldin and Malcolm Jenkins.
Jenkins and former MLS player Justice Morrow joined Community Justice on Capitol Hill to announce a $1 million investment in violence prevention nonprofits and community-based organizations nationwide, including Community Justice. Jenkins also offered in-depth workshops on organizing, policy, and advocacy, providing a dynamic platform for strategic legislative discussions with nearly 30 prominent policymakers or staff.
The two-day Summit culminated with a meeting with the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, to discuss necessary preventive, community-based solutions to violence.
READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE [[link removed]]
STATE & FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATES
FY25 Appropriations Cycle. The FY 2025 appropriations cycle launched this month, and Community Justice, in conjunction with the Invest in Us coalition, launched advocacy efforts to ensure we voice our funding requests to Congress regarding community-based violence intervention (CVI) and prevention programming. We are asking Congress to provide $200 million for DOJ's Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) and $268 million for CDC's Community and Youth Violence Prevention Program.
Community Project Funding (Earmarks). The House and Senate Appropriations Committee released their FY25 guidance for earmark requests. Earmarks are a great opportunity for CVI organizations to earn direct funding from their Member of Congress, so we encourage you to apply if you haven’t already, and if your Congressional Representative has not closed their earmark request submission form (most have already). If you have any questions about this process, please let us know.
DOJ Grant Opportunity. The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), which is housed under the Department of Justice (DOJ), released their third solicitation for their Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI). The solicitation provides details and instructions on how community-based organizations and other entities can apply to this funding opportunity..
CVIPI was created in 2022 to prevent and reduce community-based gun violence by supporting comprehensive, evidence-based violence intervention and prevention programs based on partnerships among community residents, local government agencies, community-based organizations (CBOs), hospitals, researchers and other stakeholders.
This year, nearly $90 million will be awarded, and community-based organizations can earn up to $2 million.
The deadline to apply is May 30, 2024 and June 10, 2024 (applicants must meet both deadlines). To view the solicitation details, click here [[link removed]] .
STATES IN ACTION
In New York , huge shout out to our partners at New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV) and Common Justice for supporting our Advocacy and Lobby Day!
In Maryland , after the passing of the Center for Firearm Prevention and Intervention bill ( SB0475 [[link removed]] / HB0583 [[link removed]] ) and the Victims’ Compensation Reform bill ( SB0471 [[link removed]] / HB0575 [[link removed]] ), we are now waiting for Governor Wes Moore to sign both bills.
In New Jersey , our Northeast Regional Advocacy Manager, Tarria Stanley, is working with the New Jersey Violence Intervention and Prevention Coalition, which includes partners such as: The HAVI, NJUSA, and Giffords to prepare our Medicaid bill advocacy strategy.
In Illinois , on April 16th, our coalition partners of the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Gun Violence held a lobby day at the Illinois State Capitol to advocate for Homicide Victims’ Families’ Rights Act (HB4753) and Karina’s Bill (HB4469).
In Michigan , through our advocacy efforts and meetings with legislators, the Michigan House released their proposed House and Human Services Budget that includes $5 million for CVI and $1.8 million for community-based organizations to work on safe-storage and Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO).
In Georgia , our Southeast Regional Advocacy Associate, Brent Bailey, represented Community Justice at the Atlanta Center for Civic Innovation’s discussion: Reducing Violence in Atlanta Through Community Driven Solution”. Panelists included leaders from: Cities United, Community Based Public Safety Collective, Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI), H.O.P.E. Hustlers, and Grady Memorial Hospital's IVVY Project. The event concluded with remarks from Anthony Smith, Executive Director of Cities United, and Jacquel Clemons Moore of the IVVY Project, who has been instrumental in building the Atlanta violence reduction ecosystem.
[[link removed]] In Louisiana , Brent also represented Community Justice as a panelist for Dillard University’s premiere of the upcoming play, “Enough is Enough”, featuring local New Orleans area youth discussing their everyday lives and how it is impacted by gun violence.
[[link removed]] In collaboration with our Louisiana state coalition partner, Equal Justice USA, Community Justice was invited to lead breakout groups at the 4th Annual Louisiana for Survivors Reform "Survivors of Violence" Lobby Day. In addition to leading survivor-led workshops and breakout discussions, we also invited community violence intervention organizations advocating for gun violence prevention in their communities.
Brent also sat with Lawrence Weber of The Dillard Center for Racial Justice to talk about his role with Community Justice, the work we are leading in Louisiana, and how community members can get involved in violence prevention efforts.
LISTEN TO THE PODCAST EPISODE [[link removed]]
[[link removed]] In Texas , Christina Delgado, Southwest Regional Advocacy Associate, represented Community Justice to discuss ways we can reduce acts of gun violence in communities through public health approaches that meet victims and survivors where they are. Christina shared her experiences of losing loved ones to gun violence as well as her experience of helping families in her community of Santa Fe, and families in Uvalde, navigate through trauma of experiencing a school shooting.
UPCOMING TRAININGS & PARTNERSHIPS
[[link removed]] Uvalde Anniversary (May 24): Community Justice will be supporting the Uvalde families as they mark two years since their children were taken at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Community Justice makes supporting survivors a priority in their communities and through their advocacy efforts for change at the human level and legislative asks.
[[link removed]] Austin Gun Violence Prevention Summit (May 31 - June 1): In partnership with ATX Peace and Cities United, Community Justice is hosting the 3rd Annual Gun Violence Prevention Summit in Austin, Texas. The summit will feature community organizations actively working in communities helping to reduce acts of violence and support those directly affected by these tragedies.
NEWS OF INTEREST
NICJR’s CVI RFP is still accepting applications! [[link removed]?]
Through this RFP, NICJR will award subgrants to grassroots nonprofits engaged in CVI work with populations at the highest risk of committing or becoming a victim of gun violence. Funding will be paired with personalized training and TA from NICJR staff.
These awards are funded through the federal Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative.
Rep. Carter Secures $17.5 Million for LA-02 Projects in Government Funding Package [[link removed]?]
Policymaker for Peace, Congressman Troy A. Carter Sr., secured $963,000 for the City of New Orleans Office of Criminal Justice Coordination’s Violence Intervention Program. To combat the city’s violence epidemic, a complex public health problem with numerous interconnected causes, New Orleans needs a robust, comprehensive community violence intervention program that addresses key drivers of risk – disconnection to supportive work and entrenched mental health needs. This funding will be used for staff to support participants, including, but not limited to, cognitive behavioral therapy specialists, case managers, community outreach workers, and project management. It will also support participant wages and more fungible uses to support participant participation such as transportation.
Congresswoman Nikema Williams Secures $12.5 Million in Community Project Funding for Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District [[link removed]?]
“$963,000 for the Center for Civic Innovation Atlanta Safety and Justice Accelerator. The Atlanta Safety and Justice Accelerator is a multi-month training program for leaders of community violence intervention programs (CVI), and hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVI) that address community violence in Atlanta. The program's goals are to build a clear model for their intervention, evaluate and measure the effectiveness of their interventions, advocate to key government officials and institutions, and fundraise for their growth and sustainability.”
[[link removed]] Founder and CEO of Big Mama’s Safe House, Bennie Price, featured in an interview about the importance of Community Violence Intervention (CVI) in his community. [[link removed]]
“Last month Bexar County commissioners awarded $900,000 to an ad agency for outreach and marketing on gun violence prevention. Only $270,000 of those funds will go to nonprofits as mini-grants. Community Violence Intervention groups feel that’s not enough.”

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