MAYOR BARAKA TO LAUNCH FIRST-EVER NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS

MAYOR BARAKA WILL JOIN LOS ANGELES MAYOR GARCETTI AND COMMMUNITY SAFETY EXPERTS 

TO LAUNCH FIRST-EVER NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY-BASED VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY IN CITIES 

AT VIRTUAL PRESS CONFERENCE ON THURSDAY, MARCH 25, AT 2 P.M. 

Despite rising violence in cities spurred by the pandemic, new national study shows community-based violence reduction programs continue to improve safety 

Newark, NJ – March 23, 2021 – Mayor Ras J. Baraka will join Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and national community safety experts to host a virtual press conference on Thursday, March 25, at 2 p.m. to launch the first-ever national association of community-based violence prevention programs to improve public safety in cities.

The event is a virtual press conference, and all media members must RSVP through the hyperlink below. Media may ask questions after the speakers give their presentations.

The Community Based Public Safety Association (CBPSA) will be comprised of key leaders and organizations representing major U.S. cities, connecting efforts from across the country to help advance pathways to safety that complement policing and reforms to the criminal justice system at a national scale. CBPSA will work to secure increased support to fund and build the capacity of public health-based violence prevention programs, which are essential to achieving and reimagining safety, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. CBPSA will also release a national study – Redefining Public Safety in America: A National Scan of Community Based Public Safety Initiatives – that details the various programs, how they work to reduce violence, and what is needed to bring them to scale. Among their conclusions are that despite urban violence created by the COVID-19 pandemic, community-based violence reduction programs continue to improve public safety.

WHO:             Mayor Ras J. Baraka 

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti

Aqeela Sherrills, Executive Director of Community Based Public Safety Association and President of Newark Community Street Team 

                        Melvin Hayward, Head of Programs for Chicago CRED 

                        Dr. Gary Slutkin, Founder/CEO of Cure Violence 

                        Dr. Aquil Basheer, Founder/Executive Director of Professional Community Intervention Training Institute 

                        Fernando Rejon, Executive Director of Urban Peace Institute 

                        David Muhammad, Executive Director of National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform 

                        Julius Thibodeaux, Program Manager at Advance Peace 

WHAT:          Will launch the first-ever national association of community-based violence prevention programs to improve public safety in cities at a virtual press conference.

WHEN:          Thursday, March 25 

2 p.m.

WHERE:       https://safeandjust.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_s8kOh7HiRLCfKf2A_YOBjQ

-NEWARK- 

For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website at www.newarknj.gov 

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