First Day of the Urban Peace Academy!

Urban Peace Institute launched another session of the Urban Peace Academy to train Los Angeles peacemakers in community violence intervention. The Academy provides an 80-hour certification training in topics such as license to operate, mediation & conflict resolution, professional standards, trauma-informed practices, importance of self-care and worker wellness, and more. Participants include community intervention workers from agencies in the Los Angeles Violence Intervention Coalition, as well as street outreach workers from other organizations that serve communities in the city and county of Los Angeles.

As frontline intervention workers, peacemakers respond 24/7 to violent incidents, homicides, and shootings to quell community tensions, conduct rumor control, and provide support for victims and their families. These essential peacekeeping services have an effective track record of saving lives and decreasing retaliatory gun violence. 

The Urban Peace Academy was the first in the nation practitioner-led training that professionally certifies community violence intervention workers to address violence on the frontlines. Urban Peace Institute has supported cities such as Chicago and Washington, D.C. to stand up their own training academies to strengthen the violence reduction field nationally.

The Urban Peace Academy training is a crucial step in implementing Urban Peace Institute's LA Peace Plan and ensuring equitable community safety solutions for all.