Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao took a moment amid the political whirlwind of her recall election to announce a significant financial boost for the city's anti-crime efforts. Just a week before Election Day, Thao and the Department of Violence Prevention (DVP) revealed the receipt of a $2 million federal grant to bolster Oakland's Ceasefire strategy—a program designed to reduce gun violence. According to KRON4, Thao confidently proclaimed, "Crime is down, and you cannot hide bodies, so we know those numbers are accurate."
Despite being notified of the funding a month prior, the announcement coincides closely with the impending vote that could prematurely end Thao's tenure. This grant is part of a larger effort by the Biden-Harris administration to curb violence nationwide, having been disbursed by Vice President Kamala Harris' Office of Gun Violence Prevention. As noted in an interview by The Oaklandside, the fund aims to add three life coaches to the already ten-strong team, training them to expertly engage with the most vulnerable community members daily for 12 to 18 months.
These life coaches represent frontline workers in the effort to transform lives teetering on the edge of violence. Dr. Holly Joshi of the DOVP described their role to KRON4 as one that "build relationships, and they allow people the access the resources that they deserve to get off cycles of violence and to keep themselves healthy, safe and thriving." The hope is that through these individualized interactions, the coaches can steer those at-risk away from paths that lead to gun violence.
Oakland's statistics seem to affirm the efficacy of such programs, indicating a 33 percent reduction in homicides and a 19 percent decrease in violent crime as compared to last year. Although the connection between these figures and the Ceasefire strategy remains independently verified, the City Hall tone is cautious optimism. According to a social media post from MayorShengThao, the grant celebrates artful policy-making and targeted intervention, representing a major, proactive step in tackling Oakland's gun violence epidemic.
Celebrating a $2M grant award from the Biden-Harris Administration for Ceasefire and our Department of Violence Prevention. https://t.co/bF3XgfcyAT
— Mayor Sheng Thao 盛桃 (@MayorShengThao) October 28, 2024
The impact is deeply personal for Barbara Lafitte-Oluwole, program and operations manager for Faith in Action East Bay. In a sentiment shared with The OaklandSide, she recounted the tragic loss of her son to gun violence in 2003, underlining the grant's potential to help prevent similar future tragedies. "We are hopeful that this grant will help us reach bigger reductions by the end of the year," she stated.
