""We're going to talk about keeping you and those you love alive and free," Jim Hopkins, emeritus pastor of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, says he told the men who gather at his church. "If you put down the gun, start taking the (city's) services, we'll help you find another way.""
"The Oakland Ceasefire-Lifeline program has been key, making a difference one person at a time. City officials meet weekly to review recent shootings and identify the participants, offering a host of services, including a life coach."
"Homicide rates have plummeted in major cities across the U.S. in recent years but the shift in Oakland has been particularly dramatic. Homicide rates have not been this low in the city of roughly 400,000 people since 1967."
In Oakland, a program called Ceasefire-Lifeline aims to reduce gang violence by providing support to young men at risk. Prosecutors, clergy, and shooting survivors engage with these individuals in a church setting, emphasizing the importance of life choices over violence. The program pairs participants with life coaches and offers various services to help them turn their lives around. Oakland has seen a significant drop in homicide rates, reaching the lowest levels since the 1960s, attributed in part to this initiative.
Read at ABC7 San Francisco
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