Project Longevity Bridgeport joined Giffords Law Center in Washington, DC to discuss urban gun violence reduction efforts and high light the impact of initiatives in Oakland, CA, and Connecticut's Project Longevity. Representing Project Longevity Bridgeport was Harold Dimbo and Aquil Crooks who were joined by Oakland's  Ersie Joyner, Peter Kim, and Reygan Cunningham and Giffords Law Center Senior Staff Attorney & Urban Gun Violence Initiative Director Mike McLively.

Giffords recently published a reporting on the successful efforts of Oakland's Ceasefire operation which targets street group gun violence through a diverse collaborative that marshalls a confluence of resources to help individuals who are seeking change. Oakland follows a framework that shares DNA with Project Longevity's strategy. The Group Violence Intervention framework also referred to as ceasefire or focused deterrence has been studied for years and has been proven effective through a strong formal evaluation record that presents evidence derived from more than 60 peer-reviewed studies, and four systematic meta-reviews. 

Project Longevity is proud to stand with and celebrate Oakland and the city's tremendous success in reducing gun violence. We can not thank Giffords enough for their impassioned, focused and impactful national advocacy efforts for gun violence prevention.  You can learn more about Oakland's efforts and Giffords by clicking here and here. 

Project Longevity New Haven's Stacy Spell joined the New Haven Police Department's SWAT Lieutenant John Healy, District Manager Rose Dell, and West Hills Solomon Crossing Resident Services Coordinator Jamila Bello for National Night Out. 

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States is experiencing its highest levels of gun violence since the late 1960s. The rate of gun violence in the United States causes our nation to stand out amongst other developed countries who experience significantly fewer gun deaths and firearm injuries. Most forms of gun violence are preventable, and the impact of gun violence and strategies to reduce gun violence should be considered a paramount interest in our public health research communities. That's why Project Longevity joined gun violence prevention champion COngresswoman Rose Delauro along with CT Against Gun Violence, the Newtown Action Alliance, Yale-New Haven Hospital and the University of New Haven to advocate for $50 million in research funding to support the CDC and the National Institutes of Health to research the issue of gun violence. 

Project Longevity Director Brent Peterkin discussed potential research efforts targeting urban street gang gun violence, trauma, suicide, accidental shootings, mass shootings, intimate partner violence, and police use of force shootings and how they might be preventable and studied. Click here for news coverage and click here for a recording of the entire press conference.