Peace Advocates Laud Biden’s Commitment to Ending Community Violence and Hold Their Breath in Hopes That Build Back Better Act Is Approved Soon by the Senate

Legislation Contains $5 Billion for Community Violence Programs

December 14, 2021— Today, in response to a new White House fact sheet that highlights the Biden-Harris Administration’s unwavering support for initiatives, strategies, and funding designed to slow the record pace of gun violence in Black and Brown communities, Fatimah Loren Dreier, executive director of the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI), issued the following statement.

“For far too long, gun violence—and the deaths of young Black and Brown men—have been treated as an ‘acceptable norm’ by the leaders of our society. We’ve got to change that. Hundreds of murders in Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, or Los Angeles every year should never be the norm in a democratic society.

"For years, advocates have been fighting for adequate, consistent funding for community violence intervention (CVI) programs, and this administration has committed record levels of dollars to fund peace. Sitting now in the Build Back Better Act is $5 Billion earmarked to fund groups on the frontlines intervening in community violence, hospital-community partnerships that are creating violence intervention programs, and advocates who have committed their lives to end violence in their communities. To say this funding will be transformative for communities—and the heroes doing the difficult work every day to prevent gun violence in our communities—would be an understatement. Despite the fact that these evidence-informed strategies have been shown to significantly reduce gun violence while also producing cost savings for cities, they have always been woefully underfunded.

"President Biden’s actions to support community violence intervention are truly historic. We commend the Biden Administration’s commitment to ending community violence as we know it, and we urge the Senate to pass the Build Back Better Act."

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