ONE shooting can result in THREE MORE retaliatory shootings.

THAT’S WHY WE EXIST.

In the communities we serve, most violence occurs because of disrespect.

But disrespect isn’t illegal. That’s where SHOW ME PEACE comes in.

In our neighborhoods, oftentimes when people feel disrespected their reaction is to meet that disrespect with violence. This violence typically happens between people who know each other, is spontaneous and is perpetrated by a very small percentage of people.

To address this situation, you have to bring in someone who is respected by the community.

We believe our violence interrupters can stop a situation from becoming violent through prevention, intervention, mediation and de-escalation. We acknowledge the capacity of people to make different choices and pursue other avenues for resolving conflict.

  • SHOW ME PEACE is a community based program that focuses on the person who is most likely to be shot or do the shooting. We are funded and supported by the city, and the Office of Violence Prevention. SMP is assisted by Live Free, a nonprofit organization and social justice network dedicated to ending gun violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization through education, advocacy, and direct action.

    We hire credible messengers, known as violence interrupters, who come directly from the neighborhoods we target. They have often been the perpetrators or victims of violence but have since made changes in their lives. Their experience in the streets makes them uniquely qualified to do this work.

    They then educate the community around violence intervention through canvassing, community forums and community events. We want to provide resources and opportunities to allow the community to see alternatives to violence.

    These strategies typically reduce shootings and homicides by 30-60% without increasing incarceration.

  • Prevention -

    After hearing about an issue, we utilize our relationships with the community to stop it from progressing further.

    Intervention-

    There may be past issues, possibly bloodshed, and we insert ourselves in the middle. The goal of intervention is to lead to mediation or deescalation.

    Mediation -

    Through our relationships, we learn about conflicting neighborhoods or individuals. We are able to meet with them, bring them to the table and have a conversation on how to move forward with a solution aside from violence.

    De-escalation -

    After neighborhoods or individuals have disrespected one another it is clear that something violent is going to take place. Our violence interrupters then step in as the violence is taking place. We are able to de-escalate the situation and eventually move into mediation.

  • Each violence interrupter is chosen from one of our target areas and must know and have respect in that particular area.

    Violence interrupters relate to the community due to their lived experience with violence or incarceration. They use this respect to get word on what is happening in the community and step in to those situations.

    They reach out to people at the center of gun violence at the center of gun violence in communities, build relationships, work to support healing and address conflict through nonviolent means.

    Violence interrupters are trained in the areas of prevention, intervention, mediation and deescalation by a licensed trainer from Live Free.

  • The City of St. Louis has identified the most violent areas in the city, we call those catchment areas.

    Our current catchment areas are Dutchtown, Greater Ville & The Ville, Walnut Park East & West and Wells/Goodfellow & Hamilton Heights.

    These are areas that are more likely to have shootings or violent crime, per police statistics. Our violence interrupters will focus on these areas for the year, but they could change depending on new data.

DID YOU KNOW?

GUN VIOLENCE IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH IN YOUNG BLACK MALES.

Community violence intervention programs recognize that gun violence is a public health issue and offer intervention to help save lives.

Violence Interrupters are not police and do not exist to help or solve crimes.