Welcome Advocacy Corps! This year you will be working to organize your local communities to build support for federal investments in community violence intervention initiatives, specifically violence interrupters. Below are some of the most important documents and forms you will need throughout your ten-month program.
Understanding Violence Interrupters
In the following sections you can find policy resources and a step-by-step guide to making a lobby visit happen. Ten months is a long time, and it’s helpful to have a refresher on the basic skills we learned in our August training.
What are violence interrupter programs?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Podcast: Today, Explained - Paying Ex-Gang Members to Stop Shootings
- Community Violence Initiatives (CVI): The program that funds violence interrupters.
- Additional Background:
Do violence interrupters work?
- The Evidence of Effectiveness: Report by Cure Violence Global
- Estimating the Effects of Safe Streets Baltimore on Gun Violence: Johns Hopkins University
Other Resources
- Justice Today Podcast: A podcast about broader topics of violence, incarceration, and justice
How do I prepare for a lobby visit?
1. Watch this 30 minute video training video from our national field organizer!
2. Read over this leave-behind. This document has the basic information on our ask for Congress.
3. Write your story! You can use this storytelling worksheet as a guide.
Find an example story here. Although this example is for another issue, you can hear the general structure and framing of a story.
4. Find contact information for the staffer you’d like to meet with, and send an email requesting a visit by telephone or video conference.
5. Make sure you’re caught up on basic background information related to this issue (See resources above.)
6. Structure your lobby visit with this roadmap.
Watch an example lobby visit here. Although this example is for another issue, you can hear the general structure and flow of a visit.
What Should I Do After My Lobby Visit?
1. Fill out the lobby report-back form. You can watch this video for more information about how to fill out the form.
2. Send a follow-up email to the staffer you met with.
2. Have any constituents that lobbied for the first time fill out this form.
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