In the summer 2017 Sacramento became the first U.S. city to partner with Advance Peace, a Richmond-based organization committed to ending the cycle of urban gun violence. The East Bay city where the program was founded saw a 57 percent decline in gang-related gun killings from 2010 to 2016.

The program intervenes in the lives of Advance Peace fellows — young men likely to engage in gun violence — offering one-on-one mentorship, job training and mental health treatment. Public opinion toward the program was mixed, as fellows who make progress through the program can receive a monthly stipend. Some saw this as a program that pays gang members to not commit violence.

In 2018, the local program served 67 adult fellows and 35 junior fellows. The program’s first annual progress report shows that there were no murders of children in the year, and that all 102 participants are still alive. Only six had a new firearm injury in that time.

Sacramento News & Review reporter Scott Thomas Anderson joins us in studio to discuss other findings from the progress report and the community effort to curb gun violence in Sacramento.