AUSTIN, Texas — Members of an Austin nonprofit says their mission is to put their lives on the line to help keep people from losing theirs.
The ATX Peace Violence Interrupters is a team of people working with high-risk individuals in underserved areas to help them find a different, safer path in life.
Program director Abel Lopez said a violence interrupter must come from – and influence – the community they would like to help, which usually experiences high violence.
“They come between two people that, at one time, were thinking about killing each other, whether it's through retaliation, whether it's because of the situation that arose,” Lopez said.
ATX Peace was created in 2022 after they saw a rise in gun violence and deaths during the pandemic. In the last quarter, they say they’ve stopped 14 altercations that had a high probability of ending in gun violence.
Lopez said that not only were 14 lives saved, but it also saved the city $1.2 million each time a homicide is prevented.
According to Lopez, they take the time to intervene to help people break the cycle of violence similar to what he grew up with. Lopez said for him, by the time he was 8 years old, it was normal to see drugs, gangs and incarceration in his East Austin neighborhood near Powell Lane.
“Eventually, you kind of become numb to it,” Lopez said. “I remember, in the beginning, I would sleep on the floor because you hear gunshots.”
Lopez said he became a product of his environment, eventually turning to selling drugs and becoming affiliated with gangs. After getting out of jail at age 20, the now-36-year-old Lopez said he wanted to change how "normal" looks in neighborhoods like his.
“I'm just tired of seeing my homies get locked up and killed,” Lopez said. “A lot of these individuals think that there’s not an opportunity…there are opportunities. There are options.”
Currently, 24 violence interrupters work in Austin schools and streets.
Sean Oliver, who served 27 years in prison, is the program’s community coordinator. He said they not only confront violent altercations but also do community outreach and educate people about violence.
“It’s not as simple as, ‘Someone shot somebody.' That is the result of something,” Oliver said. “We’re trying to get to the underlying root issues of why are people shooting one another.”
Oliver said violence is more prevalent in underserved areas because people don’t have access to things they need. That includes access to grocery stores, schools, hospitals and activities for the youth.
“That promotes a perpetual mindset that we are less than," Oliver said. "When you see yourself as less than, then you’re more prone to be violent because ‘I don’t care then.'"
Violence interrupters offer help with finding jobs, housing and getting I.Ds and birth certificates. Oliver said their consistency with the community is how they prove their program works.
“We may show up with water and food, but that's a transaction. Without a relationship, there'll be no change,” Oliver said.
Brandon Henry said the nonprofit saved his life. He was in the program for 14 months before becoming a violence interrupter. But before that, Henry said he grew up in a troubled home around violence and drugs with no guidance of right and wrong.
“I went to prison when I was 19 and did about 10 years,” Henry said. “It broke me, but it also built me up to who I am now.”
Henry credits the violence interrupters with helping him make a new life and a chance to change people who are "oblivious to what life actually offers."
“We're beacons,” Henry said. “If I'm honest. when they see our van, when they see our shirts, it makes the community happier.”
According to Lopez, in the last year, more people have started to call them if they sense violence in the community. Lopez said people should step up and become the change they want to see in their communities.
“It starts with you,” Lopez said.
If you see violence in your community and want to contact the ATX Peace Violence Interrupters, their hotline number is 512-366-8131.