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Dear friends—

As a native Texan living in Houston, I am thrilled about the news of a new piece of legislation that was introduced today in Texas.

My friend, Texas State Representative Jon Rosenthal filed HB1580, the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Act (CVIP) , a crucial bill that will establish a state-wide Office of Violence Prevention and critical funding for community initiatives to curb gun violence.

This legislation was led and informed by our partners on the ground in Texas, including and most importantly survivors of violence.


If passed, this legislation will establish violence prevention as a public health issue and help create a statewide office of violence prevention which will provide statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance to promote effective state and local efforts to reduce interpersonal violence. While we are tackling COVID-19 in our Texas communities, gun violence continues to plague our neighborhoods and destroy lives.

Community-based violence reduction strategies are an essential part of the solution.

Gun violence in America is an epidemic, and Texas is not immune. However, the CVIP Act is a critical step to invest in evidence-based strategies that will mitigate this crisis, reducing violence and saving lives in our communities.

We need your support, even if you don’t live in Texas. Here are three quick ways you can help today:

1.
Call
your
legislator:
Join
us
in
supporting
Representative
Rosenthal
and
call
representatives
across
the
state
to
take
action
and
support
this
bill.
To
call
your
local
legislator
click
here
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.
2.
Join
our
Texas
Volunteer
team
:
We
also
have
an
upcoming
Texas
volunteer
meeting
on
February
25,
2021
at
6:30
pm
CT,
to
join
us
please
sign
up
here
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3.
Text
for
updates:
Text
“JUSTICE”
to
79606
for
up
to
date
ways
to
take
action,
and
information
on
work
happening
in
your
local
community.



In solidarity,





Amber Goodwin

Executive Director





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