Gun violence prevention leaders celebrate new Office of Community Violence Intervention

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today, the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Program  (CalVIP) Coalition released the following statement celebrating the creation of California’s first statewide Office of Community Violence Intervention. Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2378, introduced by Assemblymember Gabriel (CA-46), establishing the new office, which will work to prevent gun violence in California. The office will provide technical assistance, public education, support for the field, and grant award recommendations to CalVIP Grant. The state will also require the new director to have firsthand community violence intervention (CVI) experience. This bill was a top policy priority of the CalVIP Coalition this year. 

The California Department of Justice has highlighted CVI work funded by the CalVIP grant as a top priority for investment in order to preserve California’s historic progress in reducing gun violence. The funding was key in helping achieve California’s lowest-ever firearm death rate and homicide rate in 2024.

“From Oakland to Los Angeles, California is seeing record-low rates of gun violence. These aren’t just impressive numbers — these are real lives being saved. With the formation of a statewide office of community violence intervention, we will be able to expand and improve on this critical work, creating stronger, healthier communities,” said Mike McLively, policy director at GIFFORDS Center for Violence Intervention. “Consistent funding through CalVIP is the backbone of gun violence prevention work in our state. By creating this new office, we can ensure that funding is being awarded and distributed by people with firsthand experience, and that every dollar goes toward saving lives.”

“California has become a national leader in reducing gun violence because we’ve made a sustained commitment to investing in smart, proven strategies to stop violence before it occurs. AB 2378 builds on that leadership by creating a dedicated Office of Community Violence Intervention to strengthen and coordinate this lifesaving work across our state. I’m grateful to Governor Newsom for signing this important legislation and for his continued leadership in protecting our communities,” saidAssemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), author of AB 2378 and co-founder of California’s Gun Violence Working Group.

“Establishing this new office is an important step toward recognizing CVI as essential to public safety and violence prevention in California,” said Fernando Rejón, executive director at Urban Peace Institute. “To protect the integrity of both the office and its work, we must ensure its new leader brings deep credibility, experience, and trust within the CVI field. That expertise is essential to building state-level systems grounded in the realities and needs of communities most affected by gun violence.”

“In Oakland, we have seen what is possible when communities invest in the people closest to the problem and give them the resources to do this work. The historic reductions in violence we are seeing are not abstract statistics. They represent people who are alive today, families who have not experienced the trauma of losing someone they love, and young people growing up in a safer Oakland,” said Lauren Greenberg, Director of Development and Communications at Youth Alive. “But this progress is not inevitable, and it cannot be taken for granted. A statewide Office of Community Violence Intervention will help ensure that the people doing this work every day have a meaningful voice in how California supports and strengthens the field. Sustained CalVIP funding, paired with leadership that understands community violence intervention from the ground up, is essential if we want to protect this progress and continue building safer, healthier communities across California.”

“Community violence intervention programs are a critical part of the work to prevent gun violence and save lives in communities across California, and they deserve strong, coordinated support,” said Alex Navarro, volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action. “AB 2378 will help ensure California’s investments in this lifesaving work are strategic, sustainable, and informed by what works on the ground. We’re grateful to Assemblymember Gabriel for his continued leadership.”

The CalVIP Coalition consists of community violence intervention practitioners, advocates, survivors, researchers, and partners from across California who helped craft and implement the state’s flagship CalVIP grant. The CalVIP grant is designed to support evidence-based community violence intervention efforts, which disrupt cycles of gun violence and increase public safety by providing lifesaving services to individuals at the highest risk.