Ex-gang members draw on their past to stop Fort Worth shootings before they happen


Inspired by a news story about a successful violence-intervention program in Richmond, California, and alarmed by a surge in gun violence in 2019, city officials in Fort Worth created VIP FW to deploy formerly incarcerated men and former gang members as mentors and mediators. In the program's startup phase, its mediations interrupted 18 potential shootings. Led by a man who pleaded for solutions at city council meetings, VIP FW intervenes in the lives of young men deemed at risk of committing violence who aren't reached by other community programs or by police enforcement.

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