New Bill Will Support Evidence-Informed Violence Interruption and Prevention Programs That Are Proven To Break the Cycle of City Gun Violence
WASHINGTON – Everytown for Gun Safety today released the following statements applauding the introduction of the Break the Cycle of Violence Act — legislation introduced by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Congressman Steven Horsford (D-NV) that would provide historic investments to communities for evidence-informed gun violence intervention and prevention programs designed to interrupt cycles of violence. This long-term funding builds upon American Rescue Plan funds and existing federal grant programs that the Biden-Harris administration has authorized to immediately fund community violence intervention programs, as mentioned in yesterday’s new comprehensive strategy from the administration.
The community-based violence intervention strategies supported by the Break the Cycle of Violence Act are informed by public health models and provide culturally competent, trauma-responsive services to individuals and communities impacted by gun violence. These programs have been proven to reduce gun violence, shift community norms, and improve the outcomes and resiliency of gun violence survivors.
The Break the Cycle of Violence Act would create a $5 billion federal grant program over the next eight years for cities with high rates of gun violence to support local government, hospitals, and community-based organizations, and a new $1.5 billion federal grant program for year-round job training and workforce development in communities disproportionately impacted by gun violence. It would also create an Office of Community Violence Intervention within the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate the grant program and other provisions, and establish a Community Violence Intervention Advisory Committee composed of community gun violence intervention experts and frontline workers representative of the communities most impacted by community gun violence.
“Gun violence is at crisis levels across the country, and communities need the type of immediate and local interventions that we know save lives,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “We applaud Sen. Booker and Rep. Horsford for introducing this legislation that will give those disproportionately impacted by gun violence the tools they are asking for.”
“Black and Latinx communities bear the brunt of America’s gun violence epidemic — and while survivors and grassroots volunteers have been organizing and fighting back to save lives, they need support and investments in the local violence intervention programs they know work,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action. “We applaud the reintroduction of this life-saving legislation by Sen. Booker and Rep. Horsford that will take the bold action that the gun violence epidemic demands.”
Everytown is proud to be a member of the Invest In Us Coalition, which helped make this progress possible. The coalition is comprised of community and national violence prevention organizations committed to building support to fund evidence-based community solutions to gun violence and educate leaders and the general public about proactive solutions to make our communities safer.
Every day, more than 100 Americans are shot and killed and over 200 more are wounded. In addition to the community trauma inflicted by the failure to take action, gun violence costs taxpayers, survivors, families, employers, and communities $280 billion each year.
