CVI & Professional Community Intervention Training Institute

Community safety

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

The issue we seek to address is the lack of culturally credible, trauma-informed mentorship and leadership development for justice-impacted Transitional Age Youth (TAY) and community members. These individuals often face systemic barriers such as poverty, incarceration, limited access to education, unstable housing, and generational trauma. Without trusted guidance or supportive spaces, many are left vulnerable to cycles of violence, recidivism, or disconnection from opportunity. We understand that real change must come from within the community. That’s why our approach centers credible messengers—leaders with lived experience—who can provide mentorship, reentry support, and intervention training through programs like PCITI. This initiative is designed to equip participants with tools for healing, self-empowerment, and leadership, ultimately addressing root causes of violence, disconnection, and systemic harm while investing in a more resilient and empowered future.

This grant will support a trauma-informed, culturally grounded leadership and reentry program led by Lessonz Learned, rooted in the Professional Community Intervention Training Institute (PCITI) framework. The program addresses the urgent need for credible, lived-experience-based mentorship for Transitional Age Youth (TAY) and justice-impacted individuals in Los Angeles County. Participants face systemic barriers such as incarceration, housing insecurity, violence, and a lack of economic opportunity. This initiative provides a healing-centered solution that focuses on prevention, leadership development, and life skills. Over the course of a 40-hour PCITI cohort, participants will engage in training focused on violence interruption, conflict resolution, community safety, personal development, and reentry planning. Sessions will be led by certified facilitators with lived experience, creating a safe and relatable environment that builds trust and accountability. All participants will receive PCITI and reentry workbooks, stipends to reduce financial barriers, and one-on-one mentorship. The program's design not only equips participants with practical tools for leadership and personal stability but also cultivates a pipeline of credible messengers who can return to their communities as change agents. By blending reentry support with professional intervention skills, this initiative builds safer neighborhoods and empowers a new generation of community-based leaders to develop.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles County will experience a powerful shift in community safety, youth empowerment, and reentry success. Transitional Age Youth (TAY) and justice-impacted individuals will have access to trusted, lived-experience mentors, reducing recidivism and cycles of violence. Communities will benefit from a new generation of trained credible messengers—leaders who reflect the people they serve and who are equipped to resolve conflict, promote healing, and inspire change. Neighborhoods will become safer, more connected, and driven by solutions from within.