Violence interrupters seem to be making Oakland schools safer. But funding is running out

"A partnership between Oakland Unified School District and the city's Department of Violence Prevention to bolster student safety will end at the close of this school year, in June 2026, unless leaders can come up with needed funding. Violence interruption and prevention teams have worked at Oakland high schools since 2022. The teams include a life coach, a gender-based violence specialist, and a violence interrupter who intervenes to support victims in the midst of conflicts. Last year, the Department of Violence Prevention reported that Oakland high schools saw a 10% reduction in suspensions for physical violence after the violence interruption and prevention teams were introduced."

"But at the annual meeting of Oakland's Education Partnership Committee on Monday, school district and city leaders acknowledged they'll need to find other funding options if the program continues. Jenny Linchey, a deputy chief with the violence prevention department, said the office is working to find local, state, and federal grants to continue supporting the program. With OUSD strapped for cash, it would likely need to find outside money. "It was always the intention to start the program up, grow it, and then transition it over to OUSD eventually," Linchey said. "So we'll be doing that at the end of the school year.""

"School board Director Mike Hutchinson raised concerns about the sunsetting of the partnership. "I really see the violence interruption work that we have been doing in our schools as an extension of the Ceasefire policy," Hutchinson said. "It's really troubling now that we've established that work that it's going to be hard for us to maintain it without that ongoing support from the city." In the second half of the 2024-2025 school year, 47 students were supported by the life coaches, 121 students received gender-based violence services and 355 students participated in violence intervention and prevention mediations, said Misha Ka"

Oakland Unified School District and the city's Department of Violence Prevention operate violence interruption and prevention teams at high schools, including life coaches, gender-based violence specialists, and violence interrupters. The teams began in 2022 and contributed to a 10% reduction in suspensions for physical violence last year. The partnership faces termination in June 2026 without additional funding. The Department of Violence Prevention is pursuing local, state, and federal grants while the district will likely need outside money. Leaders originally intended to grow the program and transition it to the district, but officials express concern about sustaining services without city support.

Read at The Oaklandside