Our Violence-Free Zone Initiative began as a 3-month public safety pilot project in the Greenway community of Southeast Ward 7 aimed at reducing the alarming rise in incidents of gun violence in the District of Columbia over the past year. It has now grown to a three-year, federally-funded initiative.

The project model relies on societal components working together to:

• Intervene with and influence those most likely to be perpetrators or victims of gun violence
• Change norms around gun violence and other crime that will have long-lasting impacts
• Address root causes of crime and violence in target communities

Partners include current inmates and returning citizens, law enforcement, other government agencies, businesses, churches, political leaders, other non-profits, and community-based organizations.

The project provides a comprehensive, holistic approach to addressing the needs of the youth in the community, starting with the transformation of an individual’s values, and providing critical resources, supports, and services that help to reduce the overall inequities within communities that often lead to conflict. A result of this initiative, there has been a 70% decrease in violence in in the Greenway community.