One Long Beach-Community Violence Intervention and Prevention (CVIP) Initiative

Community safety

Long Beach

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

Centro CHA seeks to address multiple, intersecting challenges impacting West Long Beach, a historically underserved area. System-impacted and foster youth face limited access to safe spaces, quality education, job opportunities, and support systems. Community safety is threatened by cycles of violence and a lack of youth engagement. Many adults struggle with literacy, further limiting economic mobility. Additionally, West Long Beach suffers from a lack of green spaces, tree canopy, and accessible parks, contributing to poor health outcomes and fewer safe community gathering spots. Centro CHA’s approach integrates safety, education, economic advancement, and environmental justice to create a healthier, more equitable future.
The underlying social and economic challenges in Long Beach’s underserved neighborhoods—marked by high poverty rates, housing instability, limited access to quality services, and environmental burdens—exacerbate residents’ exposure to violence and related harms.

This grant will support Centro CHA’s expansion of its CVIP program in West Long Beach through the One Long Beach Collaborative. The initiative will address community safety by establishing safe routes to schools and providing trauma-informed, culturally rooted after-school and summer programming. A key component is the Leadership Institute, which will offer six months of mentorship, civic engagement training, and workforce development for 35 Latino and Black system-impacted youth. The program also includes summer job placements to promote economic advancement. In parallel, Centro CHA will advocate for increased green space and park access, and offer adult literacy support through family-centered education workshops.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles County will be a safer, healthier, and more equitable place where historically underserved communities—like West Long Beach—thrive. Our vision includes increased investments in low-income neighborhoods, where residents live in sustainable homes, attend safe schools, and are civically engaged and economically empowered. Schools and surrounding areas will be protected not by police, but by trained community-based safe passage workers, parent volunteers, and violence interrupters. Youth and families will participate in targeted anti-bullying, anti-harassment, and Stop Gun Violence education. Students and parents will benefit from culturally rooted wellness programs and youth development activities that reduce gang involvement and promote long-term community safety and connection.