WATCH: A New Class of MPA Graduates Look Back on CVI Training Academy Experience

The Metropolitan Peace Academy (MPA) recently gained 69 new graduates from their intensive 18-week Community Violence Intervention (CVI) training programs in street outreach, case management, and victim advocacy. Meet four of those graduates as they look back on their training experience and the lessons they’ll carry into the future of their violence prevention work.

“The work that we do is necessary.”

Vastoria Parker, a graduate from Case Management Cohort 11 and member of the Lake County Peacemakers, says her experience at the MPA has deeply impacted the way she serves her participants, making her a more empathetic provider of care. “The work that we do is necessary for people like me to feel what other people are feeling; to repair harm to people; [to] educate my people on how not to react,” she says.

Parker explains that those skills are invaluable for working as a case manager, providing ongoing support and connection to services like workforce development, behavioral health, and educational opportunities. “Some of the things I’ve learned here at the Peace Academy help me to do what I wanted to do all along,” she explains.

“I wanted to change the community for the better.”                         

Carmelo Meda serves as a victim advocate for New Life Centers, and says his lived experience, surviving violence in his community and experiencing incarceration, fuels his passion for CVI. “I wanted to change the community for the better and help the youth out,” he explains.

The MPA gave Meda the invaluable experience of connecting with other CVI professionals with the same dedication to changing their neighborhoods. “I believe that being recognized by your peers is a gift, because they see everything that you bring to the table and they see your heart.”

“I’m very grateful for the Metropolitan Peace Academy.”

Nigel Patrick, a supervisor also with the Lake County Peacemakers, graduated from Outreach Cohort 23, one of the two Outreach Cohorts, this June. “We became a family over the last 18 weeks,” he says of his fellow cohort members.

“I’m very grateful for the Metropolitan Peace Academy,” he continues, “because of all the information we’ve been given and just the experience. We created relationships with individuals we would’ve probably never met or crossed paths.”

“I’m so invested in this work.”

Jemelle Lloyd from the Southwest Organizing Project (SWOP) and member of Outreach Cohort 24, the second cohort of Outreach graduates, says the training at the MPA was a demonstration of his commitment to healing his community. “I went to the MPA every day with a clear mind and an exciting feeling to learn.”

“I’m so invested in this work,” he shares. “I actually learned this quote in school—’If nobody else does the work, we’ll be waiting.’ We got to get out there and get our boots on the ground and do this work ourselves.”

MPA registration is open! Register now to become a part of MPA’s premiere CVI professional development experience.

Case Management | Street Outreach | Victim Services