I've written about Kevin Grant a lot on this blog. He has been a key participant in the city's Ceasefire gang call-ins and was one of the three Oakland violence prevention workers I profiled in San Francisco Magazine in April 2012. Kevin has been tireless in his efforts to keep the peace on the streets of Oakland and to lead young people here to a better way of life. Much of his work is funded by Measure Y. Now he has been recognized, along with two other Californians, by The California Wellness Foundation. They've awarded Kevin their annual Peace Prize. It's a big deal. Here's the press release, with what they had to say about him and his work:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 12, 2012
Contact: Laurie Kappe
i.e. communications, LLC (415) 616-3930
Adriana Godoy Leiss
The California Wellness Foundation (818) 702-1900 |
The California Wellness Foundation Announces 20th Annual California Peace Prize Honorees
Kevin Grant
Kevin
Grant is a renowned expert in street outreach, violence mediation and
re-entry programs. Growing up on the streets of Oakland, Grant himself
was in and out of the juvenile justice system at a young age. Released
from federal prison in 1989, Grant says he gained from his experience
the motivation to change the direction of his life and the compassion to
help others like himself. As a consultant, he provides probation and
parole re-entry services and conducts trainings and workshops for law
enforcement agencies, community service providers and school districts
at local, state and federal levels. Grant is the violence prevention
network coordinator for Measure Y, which was passed in Oakland in 2004
to fund violence prevention and public safety. He leads skilled street
outreach teams made up of members of the community, who intervene to
prevent conflict and/or retaliation before they happen in Oakland's most
dangerous neighborhoods.
"I
believe that a lot of the violence in our communities is preventable,"
Grant said. "Through building relationships, we can give the power back
to the communities."
The
California Wellness Foundation is a private, independent foundation
created in 1992, with a mission to improve the health of the people of
California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and
disease prevention.
The
Foundation prioritizes eight issues for funding: diversity in the
health professions, environmental health, healthy aging, mental health,
teenage pregnancy prevention, violence prevention, women's health, and
work and health. It also responds to timely issues and special projects
outside the funding priorities.