Workforce Development
California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant
In 2022, the state of California selected Athletes for Life™ as a community-based nonprofit organization to provide services to the community of Compton, CA. As a service provider, AFL, in accordance with the State Legislature, established the CalVIP Grant Program in 2017 to replace the California Gang Reduction, Intervention, and Prevention grant program that began in 2007.
CalVIP provides funding for cities and community-based organizations to reduce violence in the city and adjacent areas. In October 2019, Governor Newsom signed the Break the Cycle of Violence Act (AB 1603). AB 1603 codified the establishment of CalVIP and defined its purpose: to improve public health and safety by supporting effective violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence, particularly group-member-involved homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults.
The Break the Cycle of Violence Act specifies that CalVIP grants shall be used to support, expand, and replicate evidence-based violence reduction initiatives, including but not limited to:
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Hospital-based violence intervention programs
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Evidence-based street outreach programs
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Focused deterrence strategies
These initiatives should seek to interrupt cycles of violence and retaliation to reduce the incidence of homicides, shootings, and aggravated assaults. They shall be primarily focused on providing violence intervention services to the small segment of the population that is identified as having the highest risk of perpetrating or being victimized by violence in the near future.
California Community Reinvestment Grant
In 2022, Athletes for Life™ was also selected by the state of California as a community-based nonprofit organization to provide services to the community of San Bernardino County. As a service provider, AFL, in accordance with the proposition, will support the following activities for communities disproportionately affected by past federal and state drug policies, also known as the War on Drugs (WoD):
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Job placement
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Mental health treatment
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Substance use disorder treatment
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System navigation services
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Legal services to address barriers to reentry
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Linkages to medical care
The mission of the CalCRG program is to advance health, wellness, and economic justice for populations and communities harmed by the WoD. The CalCRG program’s guiding principles are that its efforts will be:
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Responsive to and focused on populations and communities disproportionately impacted by the WoD
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Grounded in science and data, while being receptive to emerging and innovative approaches
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Advancing the whole person, trauma-informed care
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Accountable to taxpayers and stakeholders
