This legislative ask is designed to be shared with your members of Congress and their staff.
Safe communities are the cornerstone of healthy and prosperous neighborhoods. The epidemic of community-based gun violence leaves too many U.S. communities in turmoil. In the words of a D.C. official some people fall asleep to the sounds of gunshots. Ending community gun violence needs swift accountability paired alongside tactics to address root causes. Community violence interruption programs address poverty, addiction, economic disinvestment, and generational trauma. Violence interrupters are community experts who stop gun violence before it even occurs.
The Quaker peace and justice testimonies teach us that every life has dignity and peace requires the presence of justice. Our work is imbued with this principle. Violence interruption reduces homicides and shootings by establishing relationships with people at the center of gun violence in our communities.
Invest at least $200 million in the Community Violence Intervention (CVI) program in the FY2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.
Violence interrupters help mitigate violence before it happens by:
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Encouraging dialogue and averting violent, sometimes deadly, conflict.
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Coaching and assisting people in accessing social services.
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Helping individuals attain critical documents needed to access employment and housing, such as state IDs, birth certificates, and social security cards.
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Connecting individuals with mental health resources.
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Building trust and community connections by visiting school grounds and potential hotspots for violence.
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Organizing local events to spread the message of nonviolence.
The impact of these programs is palpable in the communities where they operate. A study conducted by Johns Hopkins University revealed that Safe Streets—a violence interrupter program in Maryland—reduced homicides and nonfatal shootings overall from 2007 to 2022 in Baltimore. It reduced such shootings by an average of 32% and as high as 48% in one site. New York City, in part thanks to violence interruption strategies, saw its seventh straight month of decline in major crime including a 24% decline in murders.
These programs exemplify how community violence intervention initiatives are working to build safer communities.
To sustain this life-saving work, Congress should invest at least $200 million in the Community Violence Intervention (CVI) program in the FY2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.
