ALBUQUERQUE – The City of Albuquerque’s Violence Intervention Program has received an 18-month, $950,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The School Based Violence Intervention Program (VIP) is part of the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS) and promotes safer schools, homes, and communities by addressing the complex challenges students and families face and introducing them to healing spaces created by community within the school. The Kellogg Foundation works with communities to create successful conditions for children to realize their full potential.
“This grant is key to helping Albuquerque’s families heal. During the pandemic there was a decrease in community participation in schools, which meant that that local schools saw a greater need for services. VIP asked WKKF for the funding to support the healing of children and families to end cycles of violence,” said ACS Director Mariela Ruiz-Angel. “We can’t thank the foundation enough for supporting those who are most at risk in Albuquerque.”
“As we work to end gun violence we have to move forward with multiple strategies at once. We will champion upstream solutions like this to save young lives while advocating for the help with gun safety we need from the state and federal level,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “Albuquerque’s VIP program has had lifechanging success breaking cycles of violence. This high school pilot program is one step to making our students safer, to work through trauma and conflict the right way.”
The VIP program’s mission is to reduce gun violence in Albuquerque through a data-informed and community-centered approach to address the root causes of violence. These trends in violence impact the health and well-being of children across the city and require a trauma-informed response for children and communities. VIP also responds and offers support to families, schools and communities affected by multi-generational trauma and oppression.
“We are extremely grateful for the commitment of the City of Albuquerque’s Community Safety Department to address the health and well-being of children and families, especially in schools,” says Chamiza Pacheco de Alas, director of New Mexico programs for the Kellogg Foundation. “This partnership will work to address the root causes of gun violence through a community-centered public health approach that focuses on preventing trauma and promoting healing with culturally responsive resources. Every child deserves to learn and live in a setting free from fear and strategic partnerships between the philanthropic sector, community, government agencies and schools give our children the best chance of thriving in the safe environments they deserve.”
“The VIP program is a way for us to think outside the box. We are living in a time where the traditional teaching model isn’t enough to support our students anymore. Our students are entering our schools with much more trauma than previously. It is critical that we reach them on multiple levels through different channels by people who want them to succeed. VIP will help us do that,” says Michele Torres, Principal of West Mesa High School.