A group of violence interrupters in D.C. are receiving a grant from the National Football League to support their mission to reduce gun violence.
Peace For DC's Peace Academy teaches its students how to work in the city's neighborhoods with the highest rates of violence using a "public health approach to reduce shootings and homicides."
"We’re helping people learn to retrain their brains and break their own cycles of harm," said Lashonia Thompson-El, the executive director of Peace for D.C.
Their work is now getting noticed on a national level.
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The NFL announced Thursday it's giving grants to five social justice groups, including Peace for D.C.
The money will go toward hiring more social workers and life coaches, as well as building up more programs to train students.
"To know that the NFL is backing the Peace Academy, and interested in the Peace Academy and want to support our work, that’s gonna be a huge thing for the community and for them to come on board. It’s gonna be huge," student Joel Super said.
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For both staff and students, the work the organization is doing is deeply personal.
"Gun violence has impacted my life, my entire life, and I’ve been on both sides of gun violence. I lost my younger brother to gun violence. At the time he was murdered, I was incarcerated," Thompson-El said. "My understanding of trauma I think has really helped me in the work that I do."
"I’ve been a victim of violence. I’ve been shot at. I’ve been stabbed before. I also have stopped violence; I’ve prevented violence," Super said.
So far, 24 students have graduated from the Peace Academy. Another 24 will finish next week.
