The Center for Justice Innovation launched the Street Action Network on Friday, a community research initiative led by individuals with firsthand knowledge of street life that seeks to harness the power of youth and street culture to end gun violence.

The Street Action Network leverages the expertise of those who experience high rates of gun violence, recognizing their ability to craft solutions and drive lasting change. In New York City, gun violence disproportionately affects Black and Brown neighborhoods, with young Black men being 88 times more likely to be shot compared to young white men, according to an analysis by Vital City.

Co-directors Javonte Alexander and Basaime Spate, both gun violence survivors and members of street networks, will lead the initiative. With more than six years of experience in large-scale gun violence research projects, they employ a participatory action research model, which involves the community in all aspects of the research process.

The program was launched at an event at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Central Branch, featuring a conversation between Alexander, Spate and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. They discussed their experiences growing up as Black men in New York City and their dedication to ending gun violence.

“Holistic public safety work should be informed by data and supported by community infrastructure,” Williams said. “Preventing violence means reaching youth with services, opportunities and supports — and crucially, listening to them.”

Executive Director Courtney Bryan highlighted the critical role of community-based researchers. 

“With another hot summer ahead of us, we need all hands on deck to end the crisis of gun violence,” Bryan said. “We are excited to launch the Street Action Network, which adds a crucial new team to the effort: community-based researchers. 

“As trusted community members with lived experience of the streets, the Network’s co-directors and their researchers will provide a more nuanced and accurate picture of gun violence and will take their findings to a new level by translating lessons learned into innovative policies, fostering the trust necessary to make lasting change.”

Spate previously served as a violence interrupter and outreach worker with Save Our Streets Brooklyn for five years. Alexander was that program’s first participant. While serving as security for a more traditional academic research team conducting a youth gun study that became “Gotta Make Your Own Heaven: Guns, Safety and the Edge of Adulthood in New York City,” Spate was asked to help reimagine the study’s approach and question design to elicit more direct and frank answers from the young participants. 

Spate soon brought Alexander on to co-lead their ongoing four-city study on the reasons why young people carry guns. The first installment of that study, “Two Battlefields: Opps, Cops, and NYC Youth Gun Culture,” featured interviews with more than 100 gun-carrying young people in Crown Heights and received attention from media, policymakers and community members upon its release last year.

The Center for Justice Innovation, established in 1996, works with communities and justice systems to advance equity, increase safety, and help individuals and communities thrive. The Center employs more than 800 staff members across various initiatives in New York, New Jersey and California and advises practitioners and policymakers nationwide.