Last month, I was invited to a meeting with public safety experts strategizing how to deescalate a neighborhood conflict already showing signs of violence. At the meeting, a seasoned LAPD officer told me that if anyone was going to put this out, it would be the local CVI organization.
This wasn’t a symbolic nod, it was a 30-year law enforcement veteran recognizing that community-based violence intervention (CVI) is what prevents shootings. That kind of trust speaks volumes — not just about CVI’s effectiveness, but about how indispensable it is to public safety in Los Angeles, and beyond.
CVI is a well-documented strategy to prevent violence. It relies on trained professionals who engage those closest to risk and connect them to resources and support – like conflict mediation, mentorship, and job training – before violence occurs and immediately afterward, when tensions are highest.
As a public health researcher who studies violence, I’ve seen how CVI programs prevent shootings by diffusing tensions before they escalate, brokering peace agreements to interrupt cycles of retaliation, and fostering community healing by consistently showing up in times of crisis. These programs work because they’re grounded in relationships and trust. The people doing this work are “credible messengers” — often the only ones who can step in safely and effectively.
But now, that work is at risk. Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) rescinded hundreds of active grants, including many supporting CVI programs in California. These are not future dollars. They are lifelines, canceled mid-stream, disrupting teams that have built trust and saved lives. At the same time, the California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) program— a critical state resource funding these programs — is falling short. To maintain the important work being done by CVI programs in Los Angeles and other cities across the state, our state policymakers must meet this moment and provide badly needed funding before it’s too late.
Research consistently shows that CVI works, when it’s sufficiently understood, funded and supported. In Los Angeles, historic government and philanthropic investments are strengthening the field. With funding to build professionalization and training infrastructure, create data collection systems, and coordinate programs across the city and county to strategize and share best practices, LA is building out one of the most robust CVI ecosystems in the country.
Last year, LA homicide rates dropped to a five year low, perhaps a testament to these efforts. Similar trends are emerging in other California cities, like San Francisco and Oakland, and in states like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Illinois, where violence has dropped alongside record support for CVI.
CVI programs don’t just prevent violence, they build community resilience and reduce strain on healthcare and legal systems. Statewide, the impact is clear: every $1 invested in CVI saves taxpayers an estimated $18 in criminal justice and healthcare costs.
This is the unheralded, day-to-day work that keeps communities whole. And it requires sustained investment to continue.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen a long overdue shift in recognizing the value of CVI. Federally, the previous surgeon general’s advisory declaring firearm violence a public health crisis recommended investment in CVI, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act directed a historic $250 million to the efforts, and the American Rescue Plan Act authorized additional funds for this work.
Meanwhile, the CalVIP program has served as a key state funding mechanism, fueled by revenue from an excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition — a result of years of advocacy that led to the passage of AB 28 in 2023. CVI programs receiving CalVIP funding have made the state safer, preventing more than 3,000 incidents of potential violence in the past three years.
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Peacemakers have been doing this work for generations. What’s new is the chance to recognize, support, and scale it. Los Angeles is showing what’s possible. Now we have to protect it.
Julia Lund is a public health researcher who holds an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Washington and currently works with the UC Davis Centers for Violence Prevention. The content is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Violence Prevention or the University of California Davis.
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