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WEBVTT NATALIE: IN THE WAKE OF A DEADLYSHOOTING, SACRAMENTO CITYLEADERS ACTED ON A CONTROVERSIALrtGUN-VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMADVANCE PEACE.IT WOULD TARGET 50 YOUNG MEN,MOSTLY BLACK AND LATINO,IDENTIFIED AS BEING RESPONSIBLEFOR MUCH OF THE GUN AND GANGrtVIOLENCE IN THE CITY.50 PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEPOSSIBILITY OF TAKINrtG A LIVE.IF WE CAN REACH THOSE 50, HOWMANY LIVES HAVE WE SAVED?NATALIE: NICOLE CLAVO LOST HER17-YEAR-OLD SON J.J. TO GUNrtVIOLENCE NEARLY 2 YEARS AGO, ANDSUPPORTS ADVANCE PEACE.THE PROGRAM WOULD CREATEMENTORSHIP, EDUCATION AND JOBTRAINING OPPORTUNITIES TO THEMEN SELECTED EVEN OFFERINGFINArtNCIAL REWARDS UP TO $1,000 AMONTH FOR SUCCESSFULLY MEETINGPROGRAM GOALS.>> THEY MAY NOT HAVE HAD MEN ANDWOMEN IN THEIR HOMES WHO SHOWEDTHEM LOVE AND ENCOURAGEMENT ANDrt-- NATALIE: COMMUNITY RESPONSE TOTHE PROGRAM WAS OVERWHELMINGLYPOSITIVE WITH A GOAL OF REDUCINGSHOOTINGS AND HOMICIDES BY 50%rtIN THE NEXT 4 YEARS.BUT COUNCIL WOMAN ANGELIQUEASHBY RAISED ISSUES WITH THECONTRACT.>> WE HAVE NO OPPORTUNITY TOPULL OUT OF THIS CONTRACT.NONE WHATSOEVER.rtIT'S FRONT LOADED WITH THE CASHON THEIR END.NATALIE: AT ONE POINT, ASHBYSPARRED WITH MAYOR DARRELLrtSTEINBERG.>> THAT'S NOT THE WAY I READTHIS.>> MAYOR, THAT'S EXACTLY WHATTHIS SAYS.>> HER POINTS WERE VALID, I HOPErtWE HOLD ADVANCE PEACEACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT THEY'VEPROMISEDNATALIE: AFTER DECIDING, THECONTRACT NEEDS TO FIRST BEREVIEWED AND FINE-TUNED.CITY LEADERS VOTED IN FAVOR OFADVArtNCE PEACE.I WAS PLEASANTLY PLEASED.I THINK WE ALL WERE.IT'S AN AFFIRMATION OF THE WORKWE'VE BEEN DOING FOR YEARS.>>rt CONGRATULATIONS.>> GREAT DECISION.IF WE SAVE ONE AND ONE SAVESANOTHER ONE, IT'S WORKING.

Advertisement 5 things to know about Sacramento program to curb gun violence City officials approve funding for Advance Peace program Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The Sacramento City Council voted Tuesday night to fund a new program aimed at combating gun violence in the city. The council unanimously approved $1.5 million for the Advance Peace program even after Mayor Darrell Steinberg and council member Angelique Ashby went head-to-head over the contract.During the council meeting, Ashby raised several concerns about ambiguities in the contract with the Advance Peace program, including when the program would receive payment versus deliver results, which local partners to include from the Sacramento community to implement the program and how to require Advance Peace to match city dollars. "I agree with her, especially the point she was making that there should be local groups involved," said Mervin Brookins of Brother 2 Brother, a mentor program in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood of Sacramento. "We've been doing the work before the money got here, so I think it's only right the individuals who are invested in this be the first ones to help when the money comes to the community.""Her points were valid. I hope we hold Advance Peace accountable for what they've promised," said Nicole Clavo, who lost her 17-year-old son J.J. to gun violence nearly two years ago.Clavo passionately supports Advance Peace."I'm all for it," she said. "The possibility is there it could have saved my son's life because we could have possibly reached the men responsible for taking his life." With the passing vote, the city manager will now fine tune the contract with the program to make sure the city can hold Advance Peace accountable to its goals.Advance Peace, which started in Richmond, Calif. has a track record of success in combating gun violence in dozens of U.S. cities. However, the program has been criticized for seeming to pay gang members not to commit violent crimes.The program organizers said it combines mentoring, access to educational opportunities and cash to get those who are suspected of pulling the trigger -- but have never been caught or prosecuted -- to choose a new path.The funding would allow the Advance Peace program to begin in Sacramento as soon as possible. However, the contract between the city and the program needs to be signed first."This is what we need in Sacramento, right now," said Dionne Johnson of Brother 2 Brother. "We need help now, not next week or two weeks from now." After the city manager irons out the ambiguities raised by Ashby and Advance Peace agrees to the changes in the contract, the program could be initiated right away. However, if there are disagreements over the contract changes, the issue could be brought up to the city council again.5 things to know about new Sacramento programHere are five things to know about the Advance Peace program and why Steinberg pushed to see it implemented in Sacramento. 1) City wants 50 young men to choose a new pathIn Sacramento, the program would target 50 young men who were identified as being responsible for much of the gun and gang violence in the city."Fifty is a huge number. That's 50 shooters who have the possibility of taking a life," Clavo said. "If we can reach those 50, how many lives have we changed?"These people are known to the city, as well as their neighbors, Mayor Steinberg explained. However, there is not enough evidence to prosecute them. "If you commit a crime and you are caught committing a crime or there's evidence against you, you're going to be fully prosecuted even with this project," Steinberg said. "But, there are people who we think we can turn them around.""It gives us the resources to target the individuals we know are the drivers behind what's going on," Brookins said. 2) How the program worksMembers of the Advance Peace outreach teams, which could include former convicts, will perform what's called street outreach, according to Chief Executive DaVone Boggan.It's a part of an 18-month fellowship, where participants, known as fellows, are provided access to an array of mentoring, educational and job-training opportunities. They can also receive up $1,000 per month for nine months after six successful months in the program. "The strategy itself has seven daily touch-points that includes working with each of these fellows to create an 18-month life map, which is essentially an assessment to a goal development sheet and a map that helps the individual connect the dots," Boggan said. The outreach teams will fan out on two different tracks. One track is focused on the 50 young men identified by the gang prevention and intervention task force. The second focuses on those who could one day find themselves choosing to pull the trigger instead finding more productive and nonviolent ways to resolve their conflicts.3) There is opposition to this programIn a statement, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said she has serious concerns. “I support the gang prevention task force and the many evidence-based youth mentoring and intervention programs already in existence in the city of Sacramento. I have serious concerns with a program that is apparently based upon the payment of money to high-risk individuals in exchange for a promise not to engage in violent criminal conduct. There is insufficient evidence-based data to show this approach is effective in preventing gun violence.”Boggan strongly disagrees with this notion. He said money, especially of this amount, isn't enough to get someone to put down their gun and reiterated the program's comprehensive approach to change a person's outlook.4) Breaking down the moneyThe City of Sacramento is being asked to contribute $1.5 million over three years to the Advance Peace program. That funding was approved by the council during its meeting Tuesday.The money covers outreach teams, training, technical assistance and independent evaluation of the work by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the Institute for Urban and Regional Development at UC Berkeley.Money for the stipends provided to the fellows comes from private donors.5) History of successFrom 2010-2016, firearm assaults and deaths dropped by 60 percent in Richmond. Eighty-four fellows were enrolled in the program from 2010-2015.Of those, 94 percent are still alive, 83 percent have no gun-related injuries and 77 percent have not been suspected in any firearms activity, according to Advance Peace in Richmond.The program's success had led 36 cities across the country, including 10 in California, to reach out to Boggan about implementing the program.He said two California cities will be chosen over the next four years.---Story by KCRA reporters Max Resnik and Natalie Brunell