HEALING COMMUNTIES, PREVENTING VIOLENCE

Community violence intervention is saving lives across California 

Across California, communities are seeing something once thought impossible: historic reductions in violence. These aren’t coincidences—they’re the result of intentional, community-led violence intervention work. 

Here’s what 2025 looked like across the state: 

• Modesto: ZERO homicides 

• Richmond: Five homicides—the lowest number on record 

• Oakland: Lowest number of homicides since the 1960s 

• San Francisco: Lowest number of homicides since the 1950s 

• Los Angeles: Lowest number of homicides since the 1960s 

And CYS has played a meaningful role in this progress. 

CYS’s Community Healing Collaborative (CHC) is a coordinated, community-led approach to safety that brings together prevention, rapid intervention and long-term stabilization. Through trusted relationships, consistent presence and shared accountability, CHC works to stop violence before it happens, respond when it does and support healing that lasts.

CHC focuses on youth at the highest immediate risk of homicide, shooting, and aggravated assault—meeting young people where they are and surrounding them with consistent, trusted support. 

What the CHC team has achieved 

In just three years, the CHC team and partners including 2nd Call, Experience Christian Ministries, Promise Enterprises, Revelation Church of God in Christ, and Inner-City Visions have delivered life-saving results: 

To date, the collaborative has responded to 487 shooting incidents, providing: 

• Immediate connections to victim services 

• Intensive retaliation prevention 

• Structured peace negotiations between individuals and neighborhood groups

CHC works because each partner brings a clear role and a shared commitment to the work. Through this work, the CHC collaborative teams have successfully facilitated 12 sustained group peace agreements, interrupting cycles of violence and retaliation  

This Is What Community Safety Looks Like 

This is precious, life-saving work happening every day—on street corners, in homes, in churches, and in moments where intervention makes the difference between life and loss. Community violence intervention works. Communities heal when trusted leaders are empowered. And together, we are making California safer—one life at a time.