It was a day of celebration last Tuesday as the Urban Peace Institute hosted a ceremony for the latest graduating cohort of the Urban Peace Academy. The Los Angeles Violence Intervention Training Academy provided over 140 hours of instruction to brave peacemakers who are working on the frontlines to reduce gang and gun violence in Los Angeles. Participants discussed topics ranging from healing individual trauma to best practices in the field of violence intervention. Sessions were led by veteran peacemakers and expert interventionists alongside UPI staff.

Participants were asked to go deep and challenge themselves, and ultimately came through with a stronger skill set to effectively create peace in communities.

UPI was grateful to celebrate these 26 new peacemakers alongside their family members, the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development, the Los Angeles Police Department’s Community Safety Partnership Bureau, Giffords Law Center, and Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson.