The urgency of new solutions
We find ourselves at a critical moment in American history; a moment where we can choose to find new solutions to violence and build strong, vibrant communities and strengthen relationships across all boundaries. But, to make cities safer, we need to do things differently. We need to engage the entire community, including the disenfranchised. To sustainably address safety deprivation in our communities requires both the ability to stop violence in the immediate moment and to build a viable infrastructure for residents who have been economically sidelined to reap the benefits of making their own communities safer and stronger.
Our focus is on a different approach to financing these aligned but divergent efforts. This approach is one that allows us to seek a path of wealth generation and doesn’t ask already strapped cities for money they don’t have or take money from the finite charity pool.
Our approach is proven to reduce violence in cities
Our program, developed through the efforts of Rev. Brown over the past 25 years, has proven successful in bringing peace to cities. Our approach works. Our unique community-based solution builds alliances between traditionally conflicting constituencies to find peace and the end of the era of violence in our communities. We succeed because our approach is local, based on the relationship of the community with its police force and the ability to see local gangs as part of the solution to violence reduction. Our success has brought tremendous social and economic value to these communities.
One of the most visible steps in our process is called Season of Peace (SOP). SOP creates a cease-fire for a defined period of time. This approach, inspired by our success in Boston, provides an opportunity for the community to begin the transformation of relationships that leads to sustained reductions in violence. The week-long, nationwide, June pilot produced immediate drops in crime in major cities. The video below highlights the SOP program.
