I Stand for Peace

Washington, D.C. -- March 31, 2008 -- The Peace Alliance marked the start of National Youth Violence Prevention Week 2008 today with the launch of its I Stand for Peace education and awareness campaign. I Stand for Peace focuses attention on the systemic cycle of youth violence in the U.S. and provides the public and communities with access to nationally recognized solutions to combat this issue.

A PSA titled "Stand Up and Be Counted" will begin airing nationwide today. Produced in partnership with The Peace Alliance by graduate students from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, the 30-second spot tells Azim Khamisa's personal story of losing his son Tariq to gang violence in 1995.

Seeing victims on both ends of the gun, Khamisa started The Tariq Khamisa Foundation (http://www.tkf.org) in his son's honor, and invited the grandfather of his son's killer to join him. Together they have successfully taught children the principles of nonviolence and peacemaking for over 13 years.

"Tariq was murdered by a 14-year-old gang member," said Khamisa, a noted public speaker and expert on youth violence prevention. "This violence must end. Giving children the tools they need to nonviolently resolve conflict must be a national priority.

The Peace Alliance's I Stand for Peace campaign, like TKF, will bring further awareness to this issue, its urgency, and solutions to keep kids from killing kids."

In addition to the PSA, an informational website, www.thepeacealliance.org/stand, is available for the public to access statistical data, prevention programs and links to a variety of resources.

According to a 2007 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), homicide in the U.S. is the second leading cause of death for young people ages 10 through 24, and of those deaths, 81 percent were killed with a firearm. In 2005, this same group accounted for almost 50 percent of homicide-related arrests and 62 percent of arrests related to robbery.

Additionally, according to a 2004 World Health Organization report, the cost of interpersonal violence in the U.S reaches upwards of $300 billion annually. The same report estimates the cost to victims at more than $500 billion per year. These costs exclude expenses associated with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

"Our goal is to reignite awareness of the youth violence epidemic in the U.S. and educate the public and community leaders that there is essentially a 'cure,'" said Peace Alliance Managing Director Wendy Greene. "There are proven solutions out there, but they're meaningless if we don't use them. Our young people deserve better. They deserve to live in a country where reducing and preventing youth violence a national priority. They deserve to be safe and to grow up without fear."

Please stand with us.

http://www.thepeacealliance.org
http://www.tkf.org

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Nonviolence
• grassroots
• PSA
• National
• Youth
• Violence
• Prevention
• peace
• Azim Khamisa
• The Peace Alliance
• children
• activism
• non-violence

[tesst123]

Wish this PSA had time to tell how Azim Khamisa befriended the family of his son's killer, but glad this group is going public in this way. The Peace Alliance is not your grandmothers peace group - it actively works to bring the needed infrastructure for peace building to the top levels of government in an attempt to change the current culture of violence and war in the US. And now there's an affiliated and growing Student Peace Alliance as well. Hope this message gets wide exposure.

[KarenJohnson99]

Brief, yet says so much. Demonstrates the exponentially higher violence in America versus other countries. We live with the news everyday and don't realize that other countries do not live with the number of violent deaths that we see in the U.S. What if we had everything we needed to address and reduce conflict and violence at the causal level, yet it was no one's job to do it? Enter H.R. 808, the proposed U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence. I stand for peace.

[stevenarth]

Very easy to be for peace because it appears outside of us. Very difficult to be at peace as it means internal change.

[torvicle]

Very thoughtful and sensitive. Music hits a chord.

We should all stand for peace.

[torvicle]

Very thoughtful and sensitive PSA. Music hits a chord.

"I and we... should all stand for peace."

[csv1970]

The time is now, this moment. The Peace Alliance is our first step. Tell your representatives in Washington. We can do this.

[tkkerr1954]

I Stand for Peace. This needs to be seen. We must urge Congress to approve H.R. 808, the proposed U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence. For our Children, for our Planet. Spread the word.

[Lupineproductions]

Great call to action. We are numb to the violence on the headlines every day. Check out The Peace Alliance -- supporting legislation (HR 808) to proactively and practically reduce violence, and save lives as well as billions of dollars.

[Schmoodizzy]

What a powerful statistic...shocking.

[julifitz]

I hope there will be more thought provoking videos coming out. It's time we face what's happening daily in our country regarding violence. How can we make a difference if we ignore the problem??

[julifitz]

I hope there will be more thought provoking videos coming out. It's time we face what's happening daily in our country regarding violence. How can we make a difference if we ignore the problem??