The Urban Peace Institute joined Gabby Giffords and fellow violence intervention leaders at SoFi Stadium to speak about the importance of peacemakers to end gun violence. Giffords, the gun-control nonprofit founded by former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords, released their new report, On the Front Lines to elevate the voices of violence intervention workers across the country.

The Urban Peace Institute is included as a partner within Gifford’s report, highlighting the challenges Los Angeles peacemakers face as they complete the treacherous work of saving lives. During this recent roundtable, the Urban Peace Institute advocated for more funding and better pay for peacemakers to continue their work in ending gun violence. We were honored to be featured alongside our partners, H.E.L.P.E.R. Foundation, Homeboy Industries, Detours Mentoring Group, Mayor of LA’s Gang Reduction and Youth Department, and LA Public Health’s Office of Violence Prevention Department.

Some key findings of the On the Front Lines report include: 

• 86% of workers have occasional or frequent worries about losing their jobs due to lack of funding

• 43% of respondents indicated they did not feel they were respected by other professionals they worked with in their role, such as hospital workers and emergency service workers

• 93% of respondents indicated that there were not enough community violence intervention workers doing violence intervention work

• 93% of workers indicated that they had directly witnessed gun violence before becoming a paid community violence intervention worker

On the Front Lines elevates the multiple challenges community intervention workers face in the field and provides recommendations to create long-term and sustainable solutions to ending gun violence in Black and Brown communities. To read the full report, click here.