The Los Angeles City Council voted to provide $2.15 million to hire and train community peace ambassadors to help prevent gun and gang violence. These brave peacemakers will work on the streets of Los Angeles to engage underserved communities, calm tensions before they begin, and prevent acts of retaliatory violence.

We thank Los Angeles City Councilmembers Marqueece Harris-Dawson, Curren D. Price, Jr., and Mark Ridley-Thomas for their support of peacemakers in their districts. The Urban Peace Institute looks forward to training and supporting these new peace ambassadors. Law enforcement alone cannot address this recent surge in violence.

While we applaud this new support for additional ambassadors, the current investment still falls far short of the $54 million the Los Angeles Intervention Coalition and the Urban Peace Institute originally requested. A full investment in peacemakers would provide livable wages for this dangerous work, fund supportive services, and would empower peacemakers to address comprehensive community needs. While this is a promising first step, we will continue our advocacy to expand gang intervention as a community safety alternative in the Los Angeles region.

We are grateful to our LA Intervention Coalition’s partners in this advocacy effort including Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords Law Center, Hope and Heal Fund, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, United Parents and Students, and Women Against Gun Violence.