The Art and Science of Urban Gun Violence Reduction: Evidence from the Advance Peace Program in Sacramento, California

Abstract

Urban gun violence is a critical human health and social justice issue. Strategies to reduce urban gun violence are increasingly being taken out of the domain of police and into community-based programs. One such community-driven gun violence reduction program analyzed here is called Advance Peace. Advance Peace (AP) uses street outreach workers as violence interrupters and adult mentors to support the decision making and life chances of those at the center of urban gun violence. We reported on the impact Advance Peace had on gun violence and program participants in the City of Sacramento, California, from 2018–2019. Using an interrupted time series model, we attributed a gun violence reduction of 18% city wide and up to 29% in one of the AP target neighborhoods from the intervention. We also found that of the 50 participants in the Advance Peace Sacramento program 98% were alive, 90% did not have a new gun charge or arrest, 84% reported an improved outlook on life, all received cognitive behavioral therapy, and 98% reported that their AP outreach worker was one of the most important adults in their life. Advance Peace is a viable community-driven, urban gun violence, and healing-focused program.

Heterogeneous effects of spatially proximate firearm homicide exposure on anxiety and depression symptoms among U.S. youth

“…This finding suggests that the accumulation of stressors associated with structural disadvantage, coupled with exposure to firearm violence, may make boys and young men uniquely vulnerable to the mental health impacts of such exposure. When considered alongside research showing that youth experiencing more complex adversity histories may be more susceptible to indirect firearm violence exposure, and that youth with a higher sense of safety are less likely to experience extreme sadness following exposure ( Mitchell et al, 2021 ), our findings underscore the urgent need to implement and adequately fund community-based violence interventions, including but not limited to Advance Peace ( Corburn et al, 2021 ; Corburn et al, 2022 ), Becoming a Man ( Prochaska, 2013 ), and hospital-based violence interventions ( Wical et al, 2020 ) that simultaneously offer young people access to mental health and coping support while also notably reducing all forms of community firearm violence. Our findings also point to the need for tailored interventions aimed at identifying and engaging youth at greatest risk of firearm violence exposure in affordable, accessible, and culturally-responsive mental health support services in their schools and communities.…”

The pandemic did not interrupt LA’s violence interrupters

“…hospitals) curtailed and work scaled back to protect them from infection (Altheimer et al , 2020; Smith, 2020). Going online was seen only as a partial replacement for face-to-face meetings (Alderden and Perez, 2021; Corburn and Fukutome, 2021; Castro-Bilbrough et al , 2021; Wical et al , 2022). In Los Angeles, the Mayor’s order meant that there were no official barriers to GRYD CIWs maintaining (or even expanding) their activities relative to prepandemic levels.…”

Advancing Urban Peace: Preventing Gun Violence and Healing Traumatized Youth

“…In addition, Sacramento did not have a juvenile homicide from 2018 to 2019, which were the first 2 years of the AP program in that city. In Stockton, the AP program reported interrupting 32 potential gun homicides through street-level resolution of imminent gun conflicts, as well as mediating 136 community conflicts that could have escalated into gun violence (Corburn and Fukutome, 2019). In Richmond, California, gun homicides and assaults have been reduced by over 65 per cent since the program began and 97 per cent of program participants are still alive and 83 per cent have not been injured by a firearm (Matthay et al, 2019; Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS), 2019).…”