The vast majority of gun violence we see in our community stems from personal disputes and conflicts between neighboring crews. Thankfully, we will soon have a dedicated Cure the Streets team working day in and day out in Petworth and Brightwood Park to forge trust, resolve conflict, prevent retaliation, and build lasting peace in our neighborhoods. Cure the Streets uses an evidence-based, community-led model with a track record of success.

As a former Assistant Attorney General in the Public Safety Division, I know first-hand the positive impact that violence interrupters have on a community and in preventing gun violence. Cure the Streets embodies what a public-health response to gun violence really looks like. This investment will add capacity, expand the scope, and deepen current violence interruption efforts in Ward 4. Through oversight, budget advocacy, and direct engagement with DC OAG, I strongly advocated to bring Cure the Streets to our community as a critical piece of our broader public safety strategy to not only respond to gun violence, but also stop it before it happens.

I’m grateful to DC Attorney General Karl Racine and his team for following the data and stepping up to bring these much-needed resources to Ward 4. I ask our community to embrace this effort as it launches in spring 2022 and work collaboratively to save lives.