GIFFORDS Endorses Vital Bill to Invest in Lifesaving Violence Intervention Programs

Washington DC—GIFFORDS, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, lauded lawmakers for introducing legislation that would invest in effective community-based violence reduction initiatives by building safer, thriving communities to save lives. The Break the Cycle of Violence Act proposes investing $5 billion over eight years into community-based violence intervention and $1.5 billion over the same amount of time into youth employment programs. Theseprograms are proven to produce lifesaving and cost-saving results in a short period of time without contributing to mass incarceration. The bill’s introduction comes amid a surge in gun violence in cities across the country throughout the coronavirus pandemic.

 “Community violence intervention (CVI) practitioners work closely with the people in their community at the highest risk of committing or being a victim of violence. Intervention workers put their lives and safety at risk with the goal of interrupting the transmission of violence, as well as providing social services such as counseling, victim and legal support, career development, conflict resolution, mentoring, and so much more. This approach is one of the most effective solutions to gun violence, and investing in CVI lifesaving work will make a difference and help to expand the field. We thank Representative Horsford and Senator Booker for introducing the Break the Cycle of Violence Act to provide needed resources to CVI efforts in Black and Brown communities across the country.” 

In 2021, nearly 49,000 people died from gun violence, the highest number of gun deaths ever recorded, and nearly 21,000 of those deaths were homicides. This is an increase from the more than 19,000 homicides recorded in 2020. Gun violence is a deadly cycle and gunshot victims often face repeated injury and an increased likelihood of later perpetrating violence. This violence disproportionately impacts young people of color––50% of children killed by guns are Black—and it imposes enormous fiscal costs on all communities and taxpayers, costing the United States $557 billionevery year. 

Last year, President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which provides $50 million annually for the Department of Justice’s Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) for five years. However, more and sustained funding is needed for lifesaving CVI work, and a centralized federal office focused on community violence intervention would help bolster this public health approach to gun violence.

• Create a new Office of Community Violence Intervention and National Community Violence Response Center in the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Invest $5 billion over eight years for a competitive grant program to community-based organizations and local units of government that develop effective, prevention-oriented violence reduction initiatives focused on young people at highest risk for violence.
• Invest $1.5 billion over eight years for the Improving Approaches for Communities to Thrive (IMPACT) grant for eligible organizations and units of local government to provide job training, education, apprenticeship, skilled trades training, or other paid and unpaid work experiences for opportunity youth in communities disproportionately affected by gun violence.

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