This article from the January 2024 issue of the Justice Matters newsletter discusses the Peace For DC initiative.
In 2022, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded its first grants under the Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI). BJA's awards, part of the CVIPI managed by the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), help communities reduce violent crime through comprehensive, evidence-based violence intervention and prevention programs. While the initiative is new to BJA and OJP, the idea is not new to criminal justice practitioners working in the field. One of the groups that focuses on violence intervention and prevention is Peace For DC, which was founded in 2018 to work with neighborhoods experiencing gun violence in Washington, D.C. Peace For DC employs community-based violence intervention (CVI) workers who engage with individuals at risk of participating in and/or experiencing violent crime. These individuals are often referred to Peace For DC via the school system or family and friends. Once Peace For DC receives a referral, the group meets with the individuals, and if they are interested, provides them with resources to take them out of the cycle of violence. With BJA's funding support of the CVIPI, Peace For DC will expand their programming in 2024 to reach 60 more men and women during their three-year grant cycle.