Nola doesn't need cops. It needs barbers.

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New Orleans’ efforts to combat gun violence will now be housed in a city office rather than exist as ad hoc collection of programs, a change that officials say will help ensure the continuity of efforts and make it easier for researchers to study their effectiveness.

The Office of Gun Violence Prevention was launched this week with an executive order by Mayor LaToya Cantrell, at a time when the city – and the country as a whole – is seeing a sharp rise in gun violence.

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At its outset, the office will oversee four existing initiatives: Cure Violence, an intervention and mediation program; CEO Works, a jobs program for people recently released from prison; Jumpstart, which aims to provide jobs, training and case management to young people; and the Barber and Beautician Collective, which aims to organize those professionals to deescalate conflicts that they learn about.

“Barbers and beauticians are the core of the community,” Young said. “If we can get those people to be conflict mediators and peace ambassadors... to say, ‘we’re not doing it here, not in this area...’ and if they continue that message it will continue in their community.”[/quote]

[quote]The Office of Gun Violence Prevention will be funded initially with a two-year, $400,000 grant from the Kellog Foundation, with specific programs receiving funding as well. Many of the ideas behind the office have been discussed since the early days of the Cantrell administration, including looking at violence through a public health lens. The city plans to create a Gun Violence Policy Lab in partnership with researchers at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine to study the impact of its efforts and produce regular reports on what works and what doesn’t.

“We’re not afraid to try new things but we also want to make sure they’re effective,” Cantrell said.

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