Yesterday, Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice and White House Intergovernmental Affairs Director Julie Rodriguez convened the inaugural meeting of The White House Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Collaborative, a 16-jurisdiction cohort of mayors, law enforcement, CVI experts, and philanthropic leaders committed to using American Rescue Plan funding or other public funding to increase investment in their community violence intervention infrastructure. Investing in evidence-based, community violence interventions to reduce gun violence is a key pillar of President Biden’s comprehensive strategy to prevent and respond to gun crime.
The Collaborative will spend the next 18 months strengthening and scaling the jurisdictions’ community violence intervention infrastructure to reduce gun crime and promote public safety. The effort will include peer-to-peer learning and community-based evaluations to strengthen the existing evidence base for community violence interventions. National experts and federal agencies will provide training and technical assistance to help communities assess their existing public safety ecosystem, identify gaps, and build the capacity to expand programming that saves lives—both this summer and beyond.
During the meeting, Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice stressed that through American Rescue Plan funding and other investments, cities have a historic opportunity to invest in building out their community violence prevention and intervention infrastructure. Intergovernmental Affairs Director Julie Rodriguez thanked mayors and other participants for their leadership and underscored the value of sharing best practices and lessons learned through the Collaborative.
Several mayors in attendance highlighted their efforts to support community violence interventions through the use of American Rescue Plan funds, and how the Collaborative will allow them to strengthen their programs. Community violence intervention experts, who will be lending their decades of expertise to the Collaborative, noted the historic nature of this White House initiative.
Participants in the meeting represented the following jurisdictions:
- Atlanta, GA
- Los Angeles, GA
- Baltimore, MD
- Chicago, IL
- Miami-Dade, FL
- Philadelphia, PA
- St. Paul, MN
- Austin, TX
- King County, WA
