Our ongoing organizing and leadership to support Oakland’s Ceasefire Initiative has reduced gun violence in the city by 52 percent since 2012. The successful Oakland work became the model for what is now Faith in Action’s national Live Free campaign, working in 15 states and 30 cities to end gun violence and stop mass incarceration.

A Case Study in Hope: Lessons from Oakland’s Remarkable Reduction in Gun Violence

Together we fight to end mass incarceration, stop gun violence, and build economic dignity for the hard to employ. Through the Live Free campaign, we work to address the root causes of violence and crime, and the cycle of mass incarceration that disproportionately affects the lives of young people of color. Our efforts are focused on creating pathways to prosperity and peace for the communities that are experiencing violence so that families can live safely and thrive. FIA East Bay is currently organizing to have the Ceasefire strategy adopted in Contra Costa County cities.

Our three main goals are achieved by:

Contributing to a reduction in mass incarceration among young people of color through effective initiatives related to employment, counseling and education; winning commitments to reduce probation sentences from Alameda County Chief of Probation, Public Defenders and District Attorney; reducing barriers to Prop 47 Reclassification for thousands of Alameda County residents and provided direct legal and service support to individuals seeking reclassification.
Actively preventing homicides and gun violence through Ceasefire, a partnership with the City of Oakland and other community partners that includes night walks and call-ins. Over the past three years we have sustained weekly Friday night walks in deep East Oakland, engaging over 1,000 community members; participated in regular Ceasefire call-ins and follow-up services with individuals caught in cycles of violence; and participated in procedural justice trainings with OPD to build police-community relation.
Pursuing public and private sector partnerships to eliminate barriers that block economic development and prevent the hard-to-employ from obtaining jobs. We have helped to secure $1 million for job training and employment on the Brooklyn Basin project and laid groundwork for Oakland United coalition to secure community benefits in the Coliseum City project.

December 2024: The City of Oakland finished 2024 as the safest year since the start of the COVID pandemic.

Organizer Alba Hernandez speaks at a Dec. 30, 2024 press conference at Faith in Action East Bay celebrating the Ceasefire strategy that has made 2024 Oakland’s safest year since the start of the COVID pandemic. Ceasefire Night Walkers along with city officials were present.

Faith in Action East Bay’s Public Safety Committee and Ceasefire Night Walkers along with Oakland’s Ceasefire partners, including representatives from the City of Oakland Department of Violence Prevention (DVP), hosted a press conference at 10 a.m. Monday, December 30, 2024, in the Meeting Hall at the Faith In Action East Bay (FIAEB) headquarters at 8400 Enterprise Way, Suite 123, Oakland, CA 94621, to discuss year-end reductions in gun violence and share community support for the Ceasefire strategy.

“Our communities have never wavered from our support of the Ceasefire Strategy. We knew in the beginning, in its struggle and in its success, that Ceasefire saves lives — the lives of Black and Brown men in Oakland!” said Faith in Action East Bay organizer Alba Hernandez.

The City of Oakland will finish 2024 as the safest year since the start of the COVID pandemic.

As of December 1, 2024, there has been a 34% decrease in murders accompanied by a 34% reduction in non-fatal shootings relative to 2023. As Oakland’s primary violence reduction strategy, Ceasefire seeks to identify individuals at very high risk of being involved in gun violence, inform them of their risk, and then offer them intensive community-based services such as life coaching, workforce development, and mental health care.

Watch a livestream of the press conference.

Mercury News: Oakland Leaders Credit Revived Ceasefire Strategy for Drop in Violence

NBC Bay Area: Oakland Leaders Call for Continued Violence Prevention Funding

ABC 7 News: Oakland Reports 34% Drop in Homicides After Identifying People at High-Risk for Gun Violence

Oaklandside: Black Boys and Young Men Make up 48% of Gun Homicide Victims in Alameda County, Report Finds