Without DOJ Funding, Community Violence Intervention Programs Face Uncertainty

On April 23, The Washington Post reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had canceled hundreds of grants to community organizations. As the article noted, many of the canceled grants were for gun violence prevention, addiction prevention, and victim advocacy. An exclusive Reuters report found that the total value of the DOJ cuts was $811 million.

These funding cuts included federal funds that had been allocated toward community violence intervention (CVI) programs, which use a public health approach to address gun violence. The violence intervention model has been around for over three decades but gained traction in recent years. Former President Joe Biden championed the approach during his administration, and Republicans and Democrats have embraced it. According to the Center for American Progress, “CVI programs have reduced shootings by as much as 60 percent and reduced arrests for violent crimes by more than 70 percent.”

“Those individuals who are closest in proximity to the violence in the neighborhoods are equipped with the skills, the tools, and the resources to do the intervention and prevention and the treatment.”

Under the CVI model, outreach workers and violence interrupters work in targeted neighborhoods to help mediate conflicts and provide support to those at high risk of being involved in shootings. These individuals are considered credible messengers because many of them are formerly incarcerated or have previously been involved in gangs themselves.

“Essentially, what we are is a complementary strategy to policing in cities,” said activist Aqeela Sherrills in an interview with NPQ. “We utilize a public health approach—meaning that those individuals who are closest in proximity to the violence in the neighborhoods are equipped with the skills, the tools, and the resources to do the intervention and prevention and the treatment.”

Sherrills has seen the importance of this work firsthand. As a former member of the Grape Street Crips, Sherrills played a pivotal role in initiating a historic truce between the Crips and Bloods in Watts, Los Angeles. As the cocreator and director of the Newark Community Street Team community-based violence reduction initiative, he oversaw an effort that helped drastically reduce homicide deaths in Newark, NJ, from 104 in 2015 to 51 in 2019.

Sherrills is also the cofounder and chief executive officer of the Community-Based Public Safety Collective (CBPS). Until recently, the organization had a cooperative agreement with the DOJ and was tasked with providing training and technical assistance to the 95 organizations—community-based organizations, police departments, cities, counties, and states—that had been awarded $2 million in federal grants over three years for CVI programs. As a result of the DOJ’s funding cuts, CBPS has had to terminate work already in progress.

“The biggest impact is we’re going into the summer, and we’re laying people off. Summertime in key cities across the country is always the time when violence spikes. So why right now?”

Additionally, the federal government has refused to provide reimbursement costs for work that was already done in good faith under the cooperative agreement, creating significant financial strain for the organization.

As other organizations have noted in recent weeks, Sherrills said that he found out about the termination of the grant through a letter that said the project “no longer aligns with the administration’s priorities.” Sherrills noted the irony of the funds being rescinded less than 100 days into the Trump administration. The funds were allocated through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act introduced by then-Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and signed into law in 2022. It was never supposed to be a political issue, but a public safety one.

While states, cities, counties, law enforcement agencies, and community-based organizations all received federal funds, Sherrills added that he has only heard about community-based organizations and technical assistance providers being notified of cuts.

In communities that are already impacted by violence, trauma, and poverty, where violence intervention programs were trying to address the problem by hiring those closest to the problem, layoffs have already been necessary. Sherrills said that thousands of people had already been laid off across the country.

“The biggest impact is we’re going into the summer, and we’re laying people off. Summertime in key cities across the country is always the time when violence spikes. So why right now?” he said.

At CBPS, Sherrills had to lay off 20 people. He said another peer organization had to lay off 16, while another had to lay off 60.

“Our agencies need money. We need resources to fill gaps to bridge us over so we can get through this,” Sherrills said. The loss of the federal grant has resulted in a $500,000 deficit, impacting some of the organization’s key operations and core functions.

“It’s one thing to cut the community-based organization, but you’re cutting the technical assistance providers who provide insight and direction to these agencies that are doing this for the first time.”Sherrills explained the organization is in the process of reworking its budget and reaching out to philanthropic partners that have helped provide capacity building support during these challenging times; otherwise, the organization will likely have to lay off some key executives without additional funds.

Sherrills pointed out that another impact of the grant terminations is that the cities, states, and law enforcement agencies now must navigate implementing CVI strategies without the support that CBPS provided. As he noted, navigating the federal grant process can be arduous, especially for groups that have not had to navigate this system before.

“It’s one thing to cut the community-based organization, but you’re cutting the technical assistance providers who provide insight and direction to these agencies that are doing this for the first time,” he said.

Sherrills noted that he plans to appeal the DOJ’s decision, but that it’s also important for law enforcement agencies that did not have their funds revoked to speak up. While money has been cut for CVI programs and support for domestic violence abuse victims and other victims of crime, law enforcement is expected to fill in the gap. Meanwhile, the DOJ also recently cut mental health support for police officers.

In some ways, it’s a crisis waiting to happen. “No community-based police department can serve as a single ubiquitous institution that’s responsible for safety in our communities,” Sherrills said.