Urban Peace Institute

Shoutout to the newly certified leaders, and a huge thank you to all the LID mentors! The commitment to sharing knowledge and learning from others makes our collective effort to create safety and save lives stronger.

UPI hosts LID as a continuing education opportunity for experienced peacemakers to develop their personal, professional and instructor skill sets, and go on to teach sessions in the Urban Peace Academy. Each participant is paired with a mentor—a veteran peacemaker themselves—to support their growth.

Congratulations to the graduates of the latest Leadership and Instructor Development (LID) program cohort! From March to November, participants were dedicated to gaining essential skills and knowledge in the areas of leadership and instruction.

Read UPI's full statement on our website linked in bio and learn how you can stay involved here:

While today’s decision was disappointing, we continue to fight. Community organizations from LAYUP and the Liberation Fund showed up to the hearing to bear witness, be in community, and remind our leaders that: we keep us safe.

While a receivership would have brought its own uncertainties, namely who would be appointed as the receiver, it was an opportunity to finally break the status quo and take action to create better conditions for incarcerated youth.

Today marked yet another disappointing outcome regarding the state of Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls. A judge decided not to place the County’s Probation Department under receivership.

"These are taxpayer dollars. The county is just a custodian holding our dollars. So we're telling the county: invest in us. INVEST IN US." - Ben "Taco" Owens, Peacemaker, LA Violence Intervention Coalition

Shoutout to everyone who showed up in solidarity! 📣

#CVISavesLives #FundPeacemakers

UPI joined @reimaginela.bsky.social and partners for a budget rally to tell LA County leaders to FUND CARE FIRST! Angelenos deserve safety and justice that is created by and for community. We deserve care, dignity and freedom. Police and prisons don't keep us safe—collectively, we do.

Across America, lives are being saved every day due to the commitment and lived experience of CVI workers. We’re grateful for opportunities to come together in person and celebrate the collective victories of the field, while sharing momentum to get to a vision zero: no lives lost to violence.

Leadership development opportunities like CVILA are crucial to professionalizing the field and expanding the abilities of experienced peacemakers to provide mentorship and support to the next generation.

— A body of veteran peacemakers from various LA communities who are dedicated to upholding the standards of conduct & practice to guide the work of CVI & street outreach.

Big shout out to Dr. Chico Tillman, Marcus McAllister, Heather Bland, Jvani Cabiness, & Mariah Cooley for making CVILA happen!

It was an honor to host Cohort 4 of University of Chicago Crime Lab’s Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy (CVILA)! CVILA participants heard from UPI’s co-founder Connie Rice and executive director Fernando Rejón. as well as the Professional Standards Committee (PSC) 🧵⬇️

Hear from my friend, Fernando of @urbanpeaceinst.bsky.social, on the impact that funding cuts to Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs have had on trust and public safety—particularly in Black and brown communities.

The grassroots movement transforming public safety In 1992, something unprecedented happened in Los Angeles: rival gang members negotiated a historic peace treaty, significantly reducing violence across the city. Aqeela Sherrills, one of the key negot...

🔥WATCH: Aqeela Sherrills on transforming public safety.

“Aqeela is a force in the CVI field, leading with passion, purpose, and unwavering commitment to community-based solutions. His vision for transforming public safety inspires and uplifts everyone who works alongside him.” –Fernando Rejón, UPI

By signing UPI’s Peace Pledge, you become part of a growing movement working to build lasting peace and safety across LA and the country.

Take the pledge today and show your commitment to justice and community safety: urbanpeaceinstitute.org/peace-pledge

#InternationalDayofPeace

Had a great time chatting with my friend, Fernando, about how the Trump Administration's community violence intervention funding cuts have impacted @urbanpeaceinst.bsky.social
ability to carry out life-saving work—especially at a time when folks need it the most.

Our community partners in other cities face similar dangers with Trump deploying the military in Washington, D.C. and threatening to do so in Chicago. We stand in solidarity with immigrant communities and our CVI partners across the country. Community is stronger than authoritarianism. #ICEoutofLA

As the situation continues to evolve, UPI is committed to advocating for and protecting the rights, dignity and freedom of all Angelenos. We know it doesn’t stop here.

Peacemakers are not only uniquely qualified to stop violence within their communities, they also stand on the frontlines engaging and protecting those most at risk of being harmed by state-sanctioned violence at the hands of immigration agents.

Now more than ever, we need to invest in and support community-led systems of safety that lean on the well-established credibility and relationships of CVI workers (peacemakers) and others at the forefront.

We strive to remain hopeful, while also recognizing that the Supreme Court's ruling will likely ramp up ICE raids and make it more dangerous for Brown community members.

In response to the unlawful raids in Los Angeles that began this summer, UPI developed a “know your rights” training for community violence intervention (CVI) organizations so they could continue safely serving their communities in the face of increased risks.

While the original case that barred this type of activity is still pending, yesterday’s decision has serious implications for the safety and justice of communities across the United States.

In an unprecedented decision, justices essentially gave immigration agents under Trump free rein to racially profile and detain individuals based solely on their skin color, language, and occupation.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration's fascist interests and against the constitutional and human rights of Angelenos. 🧵

Sign UPI’s Peace Pledge to stay updated on future events and how to get involved! ➡️ www.urbanpeaceinstitute.org/peace-pledge/

#FreeOurFuture

Shoutout to the participants who wrote postcards to state and local leaders demanding real CARE for incarcerated youth. 📣

In the face of ongoing crisis, the @lacountybos.bsky.social needs to double down, invest in the Department of Youth Development, and expand their services so we can get youth out of our dysfunctional probation system.

We heard from youth leaders, policy experts, and community advocates on how the Probation Department is failing our young people and the need to ACT NOW.