The Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission co-hosted Attorney General Rob Bonta Thursday for a roundtable and press conference about gun violence prevention. Photo by Anahi Jaramillo

Community leaders, safety advocates and California Attorney General Rob Bonta gathered this afternoon for a roundtable and press conference for the Office of Gun Violence and Prevention. The Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission co-hosted the event in Southwest Fresno. 

“Last year, our office of Gun Violence Prevention released a report and found that California had cut its youth gun homicide rate in half, over less than 20 years, while the rest of the US saw a nearly 40% increase,” said Bonta. 

In 2022, California Attorney General Rob Bonta launched the DOJ’s first-in-the-nation Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP), a unit dedicated to developing strategies and working with stakeholders statewide to address the gun violence epidemic.

Bonta shared that the work communities are doing with organizations and partnerships is creating a blueprint for California to guide others in reversing those trends of violence.

“Violence interrupters have played a vital role in that transformation. It is those Violence Intervention programs that are behind that progress that we see in the statistics. You’re a big part of the reason why communities like Fresno and Bakersfield have cut homicides in half within just two years,” Bonta said. 

The Fresno EOC is a non-profit agency committed to providing resources and supporting programs like Advance Peace Fresno. 

Fresno EOC Advance Peace Fresno is a community-based public health and safety strategy that aims to transform lives and build healthier, safer, and more just communities by ending cyclical and retaliatory gun violence in urban neighborhoods. 

The goal is to reduce gun violence and transform lives. The 18-month intervention targets individuals involved in Fresno’s gun violence, providing mentorship and counseling to promote peaceful conflict.

Aaron Foster, Advance Peace Fresno Program Director, and three other speakers from Bakersfield, Stockton and Modesto added to the discussion regarding how the Central Valley Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) can aid these communities. 

Each speaker represented organizations in their communities that help create resources for at-risk youth, breaking them from a cycle of violence. The discussion questions for the roundtable included what worked well for the organizations, what barriers they currently face, and what the California OGVP can do to support their communities. 

One word—funding. Many shared that resources are needed, and they come at a cost to continue services and take on new projects to create a safer community. 

In 2023, Advance Peace Fresno received a $2 million federal grant to expand its work, add more neighborhood change agents, develop in Fresno, and serve as a community partner to help create a safer community by reducing gun violence. 

“We seek and desire partnership. We want to collaborate and we want to hear about how we can amplify the work that you’re doing,” said Bonta.