Building Safer Communities: Lessons from the 2024 Community Violence Intervention Conference

Guatemala team posing for a photo at the CVI conference (L to R): Paul Teeple, Chief of Party for the Guatemala Safe Cities; Rebecca Bessant, Search for Common Ground; Keila Novoa, Senior Project Manager, IBI; Evelyn Espinoza, Policy Research Director for the Guatemala Safe Cities Project; Daniel Nuñez, Dialogos; Spencer Milian, USAID COR for the Guatemala Safe Cities Project.

Effective community-focused violence prevention strategies share common elements: they are targeted, collaborative, and research-driven. This principle holds true across diverse contexts, from communities in the United States to those in Guatemala, where IBI implements the USAID Safe Cities Project. Recently, a delegation from Guatemala embarked on a violence prevention study tour in Southern California, culminating in their participation at the 2024 Community Violence Intervention Conference. 

Key engagements from the tour include:

• A meeting with Bakersfield Mayor Karen Goh, the Bakersfield Police Department, and several community organizations to study their integrated approach to violence prevention.

• A visit to Garden Pathways, an award-winning organization that offers comprehensive violence prevention and interruption services.

• A tour of the Kern County Juvenile Detention Center to understand youth-focused interventions.

• A meeting with Southern California Crossroads, a violence prevention and interruption organization in Lynwood.

• Participation in the Community Violence Intervention Conference hosted by the Giffords Center, for two days of motivation and information sharing among violence prevention professionals.

• The visit concluded with a USAID-organized workshop to share lessons learned with USAID staff and implementing partners working in violence prevention in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Thank you to USAID for sponsoring attendance to the study tour and conference and thank you to our team participants: Spencer Milian from USAID Guatemala, Paul Teeple, Evelyn Espinoza, and Keila Novoa from IBI, along with our partners Daniel Nuñez from Diálogos and Rebecca Besant from Search for Common Ground. Special thanks to Giffords Center Vice President Paul Carrillo and others who hosted the team.

The Safe Cities team has returned to Guatemala, equipped with new insights and strategies. They are now collaborating with local governments, community groups, non-profit organizations, and the private sector to implement and systematize effective, sustainable interventions tailored to the Guatemalan context.

This exchange of knowledge and best practices underscores the global nature of violence prevention efforts and the power of international collaboration in addressing this critical issue.