MPI Leadership Talk Advancement, Sustainability, and Wellness at CVI Convening in New Jersey

Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI) Executive Director Vaughn Bryant and MPI Chief Program Officer Domonique McCord present at the “Advancing CVI: Investing in Capacity Building, Wellness, and Professionalization” convening, hosted by the Community Based Public Safety Collective in Newark, New Jersey.

Metropolitan Peace Initiatives (MPI) Executive Director Vaughn Bryant and MPI Chief Program Officer Domonique McCord were among a group of experts who spoke at the Community Based Public Safety (CBPS) Collective’s recent action plan convening on December 10 and 11 in Newark, New Jersey. The two-day event focused on capacity building, wellness, and the professionalization of Community Violence Intervention (CVI), as the field continues to evolve and take shape in cities across the country.

In a discussion on training and technical assistance, Bryant was joined by Melvyn Hayward Jr., Senior Director of Gang Reduction and Youth Development for the City of Los Angeles, and Latrina Kelly James, Director of Training and Technical Assistance at CBPS. Attendees learned about the success, pain points, and future of training and technical assistance as it relates to CVI, and how organizations of all sizes can adopt the blueprint to move toward more innovation and sustainability.

The Metropolitan Peace Academy (MPA), for example, is a direct result of the teachings Bryant received in 2017 from CVI professionals working in Los Angeles. He said their guidance helped his team build a foundation for the MPA, which now stands as the premier multi-disciplinary training program for the organization.

“Do the work that you set out to do, but also be of the mind that you can advance the work,” said Bryant. “When L.A. came to help us out, we did a 40-hour training in August 2017, and they worked with us as we were building our curriculum. I don’t know that any of us would have predicted that eight years later we would go from $9 million to almost $60 million [in funding]. We set a foundation and I attribute that to understanding training and technical assistance from the people in L.A. to help [us] get there.” 

Bryant says MPI’s growth allowed the organization to add other vital services to its CVI infrastructure, including behavioral health and legal aid.

In a separate panel discussion on wellness, McCord was joined by Alia Berry, a licensed social worker and founder of The Village Revival Project, and Richard Smith, co-founder and CEO of Alignmeant Global. The group spoke candidly about the taxing work of CVI and the strategies they’re employing to help promote wellness and reduce burnout among their staff.

McCord sits on a wellness panel with The Village Revival Project founder and licensed social worker Alia Berry (left) and Alignmeant Global co-founder and CEO Richard Smith (right) at the “Advancing CVI: Investing in Capacity Building, Wellness, and Professionalization” convening, hosted by the Community Based Public Safety Collective in Newark, New Jersey.

“CVI work is emotionally demanding and often carried out in environments marked by trauma, loss, or chronic stress,” said McCord. “[We must focus] on practical, trauma-informed strategies organizations can implement to support the people doing this work every day.” 

The panelists brought forth solutions such as access to mental health, peer support structures, trauma-informed supervision, and organizational wellness planning.

The CBPS Collective aims to strengthen neighborhood leadership through investments in education, advocacy, and the work of CVI. Learn more about the organization here.