Reducing Violence News Archive

Marisol Rivera is a violence interrupter with our Save Our Streets. This anti-violence program works to stop violence and prevent shootings before they escalate. "You can't tell a young person to put a gun down and don't replace it with a job, with a trade, or something they are interested in," Rivera tells abc7 New York of our approach.

Save Our Streets received recognition from Bill de Blasio and his son for our efforts to keep the peace without requiring police intervention. “Too often you have been unsung heroes, today we are singing your praises,” said Mayor de Blasio as he presented the proclamation documents. “You are doing sacred work, and it is making a huge difference.”

Bronx News12 profiles the winter wonderland extravaganza that Save Our Streets recently held at its offices in Morrisania. Bronx Community Justice Center project director, Carmen J. Hernandez, is interviewed and explains the impact and history of the program as well as the plans to expand services throughout the borough. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed gun violence numbers across the city and says while many areas are improving, the Bronx still faces challenges in the community. Bronx News12 profiled Save Our Streets and interviewed Marisol Rivera about how the team is working tirelessly to help stop gun violence in the borough.

In this official announcement from Governor Kathy Hochul's office, the Center for Court Innovation, RISE Project (Brooklyn), Save Our Streets (The Bronx), Neighborhood Safety Initiatives (Harlem), and others were named as recipients of a grant designed to fund new outreach workers, violence interrupters, and social workers across New York in communities experiencing increases in gun-related violence over the last year.

Ghost guns have become increasingly popular in recent years, especially in jurisdictions where gun control regulations make it difficult for ordinary residents to obtain guns legally. Giving insight into why some New Yorkers feel the need to own a gun, the article links to and summarizes our report 'Gotta Make Your Own Heaven': Guns, Safety, and the Edge of Adulthood in New York City, where more than 300 young people from New York City neighborhoods suffering from high gun violence were surveyed. The result? More than 80% said that they’d personally been shot at and reported having carried a gun at some point in time, and many felt they lacked any other protection.

Josiah Bates of TIME Magazine gives a window into the day-in-the-life of a violence interrupter while spending time with the Center for Court Innovation's Save Our Streets (S.O.S.) teams. Noting the complicated dynamics that are at play in their interactions with both the police and the communities they serve, Rahson Johnson, associate director of community safety at S.O.S. Crown Heights, and Joshua Simon, a violence interrupter with S.O.S. Bed-Stuy, are interviewed and reflect on how to bring resources to help heal the community.

Nida Abbasi works across the country to help courts and communities reduce trauma around cases involving family and gender-based violence.

Expounding on the many challenges when addressing housing insecurity, this New York Times article features the work of Community First, an initiative of our Midtown Community Court. The goal of Community First is to build trust with homeless populations in order to get them into longer-term housing and support. As program director Lauren Curatolo states, “We want to support you so that you eventually want to have a bed in a space.”