Oakland Unite, the organization I work for, came to be through a collaboration of violence prevention programs funded by Measure Y resources. Our programming focuses on our highest risk community members and neighborhoods and emphasizes interrupting violence now and preventing it in the future.

OJJDP supported Measure Y with a 3-year, $2.2 million Community-Based Violence Prevention (CBVP) progam grant. The CBVP program provides funding for localities to replicate proven strategies, such as the Boston Gun Project, the Richmond (CA) Comprehensive Homicide Initiative, and the Chicago CeaseFire model, to reduce violence in targeted communities. We used our grant to replicate components of the CeaseFire model, expand street outreach efforts, provide training and technical assistance for outreach workers, and initiate a public education campaign. OJJDP also awarded our city $1.8 million in Second Chance Act grants over the course of 4 years to help develop Oakland Unite's Juvenile Justice Center. One of the center's priorities is to reconnect formerly detained youth with schools immediately upon reentry.

Now, every year, we provide 4,000 individuals with intensive services and touch more than 17,000 people through our community outreach efforts.

Our efforts have paid dividends. We’ve positively affected our community through intensive life coaching, community asset building, education, economic self-sufficiency, and violent incident and crisis response strategies and programming. Although nearly three-fourths of participants join our programs with one or more violent or serious arrests, only a little more than one-fourth are arrested within 2 years of starting the program. We are helping to make the community safer not only for youth, but all other residents as well.

To read more of Mailee C. Wang's article, please click here.

To learn more about Oakland Unite and its initiatives, visit the program’s website.