News and Media

Highlights of Advance Peace in the Media (2016–2025)

Since its inception, Advance Peace and its founding model in Richmond, California (2007), have drawn national and international media attention. In 2007, the City of Richmond (CA) created the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS). The Richmond ONS is the longest-standing Office of Violence Prevention in the nation and the first to institutionalize a community-driven, government-led, non-law enforcement strategy to reduce retaliatory gun violence. In 2010, under the leadership of the ONS, the first Peacemaker Fellowship (then known as “Operation Peacemaker Fellowship”) was developed and launched. Since its launch, Richmond has experienced more than an 80 percent reduction in gun homicide – proving that shootings can be stopped, lives can be saved, and public safety can be transformed.

From early stories about Richmond’s Operation Peacemaker Fellowship to coverage of Advance Peace in Sacramento, Stockton, Fresno, and other partner cities, the media have helped tell the story of a public-safety strategy that centers on healing, second chances, and community leadership.

2016

Richmond’s Model Gains National Attention

In 2016, major outlets introduced the country to the Richmond model that would later evolve into Advance Peace. NPR, PBS NewsHour, CNN, ABC News, and KQED all profiled the Office of Neighborhood Safety and the Operation Peacemaker Fellowship.

These stories describe a city once known for high homicide rates that dramatically reduced gun violence by investing in young men at the center of conflict. Reporters focused on several core elements: life-coaching, travel and exposure beyond the neighborhood, and modest, performance-based stipends. For many audiences, this was their first exposure to the idea of “paying people not to shoot” and the early data showed that it worked.

2017

The Launch of Advance Peace and the Sacramento Debate

By 2017, the model began to spread. The New York Times highlighted Richmond’s success, emphasizing trust-building, consistent mentorship, and stipends as a public health strategy rather than a purely criminal justice approach.

That same year, Sacramento voted to partner with Advance Peace. Local outlets such as Capital Public Radio, FOX40, and The Sacramento Bee covered heated public debates over whether the city should fund the program. Some critics framed it as “paying gang members,” while supporters pointed to Richmond’s results and the high costs of gun violence.

A widely shared fact-check by Snopes clarified key misconceptions: city funds supported program infrastructure, while fellow stipends were privately funded. That coverage helped reframe the story from a sensational headline to an informed discussion about prevention, accountability, and long-term savings.

2018–2019

National Features and
New Cities

As Sacramento’s implementation moved forward and Stockton moved to adopt the model, national and regional coverage deepened.

The Washington Post published a long-form story following Advance Peace outreach workers in Sacramento as they tried to stop killings before they happened. The piece gave readers a close look at life on the front lines: late-night mediation, hospital visits, and constant outreach to young men most likely to shoot or be shot.

At the same time, California news outlets covered Stockton’s decision to partner with Advance Peace and highlighted how the fellowship would be adapted locally. In 2019, The Trace and other media examined debates in Fresno and other cities, using Advance Peace as a high-profile example of a new kind of community violence intervention (CVI) strategy—one built on intensive relationships and real opportunities rather than punishment alone.

2020

Human Stories from
Stockton and Sacramento

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic and national protests against police violence reshaped public conversation, stories about Advance Peace focused more on people than policy.

Profiles from Sacramento emphasized that the program was “not your ordinary nonprofit,” following young people who had lost friends and family to gun violence and were now being supported to pursue education, employment, and healing.

The New York Times featured Advance Peace Stockton, showing how “violence interrupters” and fellows navigated the pandemic, economic disruption, and heightened tensions while continuing to prevent shootings. These stories helped situate Advance Peace within a broader movement to redefine safety as something created with communities, not imposed on them.

2021–2022

Evidence, Expansion,
and Policy

By 2021, the conversation around Advance Peace wasn’t just about compelling stories—it was also about evidence and impact.

UC Berkeley publicized a cost–benefit study that estimated that every dollar invested in Advance Peace in cities like Stockton and Sacramento generated many times that amount in public savings through reduced shootings and homicides. Policy outlets like CalMatters cited Advance Peace as a prime example of why California should invest in community violence intervention at scale.

National business and policy media also took note. The Wall Street Journal examined how cities across the country were “finding, mentoring, and paying likely shooters,” with Advance Peace Fresno featured as a representative example of this new wave of programs.

In 2022, as more cities considered or launched partnerships with Advance Peace, local outlets in Fresno and elsewhere covered the political debates around funding and implementation. National justice-focused media framed Advance Peace as part of a new infrastructure of CVI programs emerging in multiple cities across the United States.

2023–2024

New Cities and National Recognition

As Advance Peace expanded into places like Rochester, New York, and other cities, local media began to showcase the program’s on-the-ground impact: cohorts of fellows, graduation ceremonies, transformative travel experiences, and the work of neighborhood change agents.

City communications and local television news highlighted Advance Peace as a key pillar of municipal gun-violence reduction strategies, particularly in neighborhoods most affected by shootings.

At the national level, policy think tanks and advocacy organizations incorporated Advance Peace into reports on “what works” in reducing gun violence. National policy briefs and guides for cities increasingly listed Advance Peace alongside other leading CVI models—with special emphasis on its focus on deep relationships, long-term engagement, and rigorous evaluation.

2025

Funding, Sustainability,
and the Future of CVI

By 2025, Advance Peace had become a recognizable name in the national conversation about community violence intervention. Media coverage in cities like Fresno focused on the sustainability of CVI: what happens when federal or local grants are reduced, and how budget cuts impact community safety.

Local papers and community outlets published both news and opinion pieces warning that cutting support for programs like Advance Peace would come at a high human and financial cost. At the same time, national gun-violence and criminal-justice organizations continue to reference Advance Peace as a case study in effective, relationship-based intervention.

These stories, taken together, show a clear arc: from a single city experimenting with a radical idea to a multi-city network backed by research, embraced by many communities, scrutinized in the public square, and recognized as an important part of the national toolkit for reducing gun violence.