VIDEO: Prioritizing the Community in Oakland

When it comes to shifting from an over-reliance on incarceration to community-based solutions for violence, you have to get creative. Oakland groups knew there were better, safer solutions than mass incarceration happening at the community-level and needed to figure out a way to resource them. Balestra Media partnered with the Public Welfare Foundation to show how community leaders came together to develop a proposal for a parcel tax and parking surcharge to fund violence prevention, additional police officers, and fire service.

Developed with the fundamental belief that through trusting and caring relationships, even with the highest risk youth and young adults, you can support them to overcome challenges and access opportunities to succeed, these measures have fundamentally changed the justice landscape in Oakland, resourcing community nonprofits and leaders to work directly with people at risk of violent offenses. It puts people on the streets who understand the issues and can successfully intervene in some of our community’s most difficult situations and connect people to resources that will empower them and help them succeed.