Advance Peace
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| Advance Peace | |
|---|---|
| Name | Advance Peace |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founders | DeVone Boggan |
| Headquarters | Richmond, California |
| Area served | United States |
| Focus | Gun violence prevention, community intervention |
Advance Peace is a community-based violence interruption program founded to reduce gun homicides and retaliatory shootings through targeted outreach, mentorship, and economic incentives. The initiative identifies individuals at highest risk for involvement in gun violence and provides case management, employment support, cognitive behavioral interventions, and stipends designed to interrupt cycles of retaliation. Advance Peace operates within urban neighborhoods in multiple U.S. cities and collaborates with law enforcement, public health agencies, community organizations, and philanthropic foundations.
History
Advance Peace was established in 2010 in Richmond, California by DeVone Boggan, drawing on models from violence interruption efforts in Boston, Chicago, and Oakland, California. Early influences included the work of CeaseFire practitioners, the street outreach strategies associated with Cure Violence, and mentorship approaches from programs in New York City and Los Angeles. Initial pilot funding came from local philanthropies and municipal initiatives linked to the aftermath of high-profile incidents such as the 2009-2010 homicide spikes in Contra Costa County and the broader national attention following events in Sandy Hook Elementary School and other mass shootings. The early Richmond program emphasized direct outreach to individuals identified through hospital violence intervention partnerships associated with Kaiser Permanente clinical settings and county health departments.
Program Model
Advance Peace employs a focused deterrence and participant-centered model combining mentorship, economic incentives, and tailored services. Staff recruit “participants” identified through data from police departments like the Richmond Police Department and hospital partners including John Muir Health, as well as referrals from community organizations such as La Clinica de La Raza and faith-based groups like Saint John Baptist Church (Richmond, California). The model pairs participants with paid mentors who provide cognitive behavioral coaching influenced by approaches used at Horizon House (Chicago) and restorative justice practices seen in Oakland Unified School District programs. Participants may receive stipends, job training placements coordinated with workforce development partners such as Perkins School for the Blind (workforce programs) and vocational providers akin to Goodwill Industries affiliates, aiming to reduce economic drivers linked to involvement in firearm-related incidents.
Operations and Expansion
Advance Peace expanded from Richmond into cities including Sacramento, California, Stockton, California, Sacramento County, Fresno, California, Merced, California, and San Bernardino County. Expansion often involved memoranda of understanding with municipal bodies like city councils in Sacramento, county probation departments, and collaborations with public safety offices such as the Office of the Mayor of Richmond. Implementation adapted to local contexts by partnering with hospital trauma centers—e.g., University of California, Davis Medical Center—and community health clinics including Clinica Sierra Vista. Operational components include data-sharing agreements with police agencies such as the Sacramento Police Department and coordination with prosecutors from offices like the Contra Costa County District Attorney to integrate focused deterrence strategies.
Impact and Evaluation
Evaluations of Advance Peace have included analyses by independent researchers associated with institutions like University of California, Berkeley, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and public health scholars from University of California, San Francisco. Reported outcomes from program sites have shown reductions in shootings and homicides in specific micro-geographies, with studies referencing analysis methods used in evaluations of Cure Violence and focused deterrence initiatives such as the Operation Ceasefire evaluation in Boston. Impact metrics typically include number of shootings, number of homicides, participant employment rates, and recidivism measures cross-checked with criminal justice databases maintained by agencies like the California Department of Justice and local police records. Some municipal reports credited the program with reductions in retaliatory incidents, while academic reviewers emphasized the need for controlled studies and long-term follow-up similar to randomized trials conducted in public health research at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Controversies and Criticism
Criticism has focused on the use of cash stipends, data-sharing arrangements with law enforcement, and claims of causal attribution for crime reductions. Civil liberties advocates from organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union and community activists linked to Black Lives Matter have raised concerns about surveillance, privacy, and potential coercion in data-driven referral processes involving police databases. Some researchers associated with Princeton University and University of Chicago crime labs have called for more rigorous evaluation designs to address selection bias and confounding factors observed in quasi-experimental program assessments. Municipal debates in city councils in Richmond, Sacramento, and Stockton have sometimes reflected tensions between proponents citing short-term outcome improvements and critics demanding transparent metrics and independent audits.
Funding and Partnerships
Advance Peace’s funding portfolio includes philanthropic support from local and national foundations, municipal contracts with city governments, and partnerships with healthcare systems and workforce providers. Foundations with histories of supporting violence prevention—such as the California Endowment, local community foundations, and family foundations—have provided grants. Municipalities have allocated funds through budget appropriations from city councils in Richmond and Sacramento, while private-sector collaborations have involved corporate philanthropy similar to contributions from firms engaged in community investment programs. Programmatic partnerships include collaborations with hospital trauma centers, workforce agencies, and community-based organizations like East Bay Asian Youth Center and La Familia Counseling Center.
Recognition and Awards
Advance Peace and its founder have received recognition from municipal leaders and philanthropic bodies for community impact and innovation in violence prevention. Awards and acknowledgments have come from city governments such as proclamations by the Richmond City Council, honors from community coalitions including Contra Costa County Communities of Concern, and citations in public safety forums hosted by organizations like the Urban Institute. Academic and practitioner conferences at institutions such as Columbia University and Stanford University have featured Advance Peace as a case study in community-led violence reduction.