More #LifeCoaches, less #ACAB!
#OaklandCA homicides hit a near-60-year low with the help of life coaches
By Janie Har, April 29, 2026
"Young men at risk of succumbing to gang violence slump over tables in an Oakland church. With them are prosecutors, clergy and survivors of shootings determined to show them they have more to look forward to than incarceration, injury or death.
"The message is not one of punishment but of unceasing support. The men start to perk up.
" 'We’re going to talk about keeping you and those you love alive and free,' Jim Hopkins, emeritus pastor of Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, says he told the men who gather at his church. 'If you put down the gun, start taking the (city’s) services, we’ll help you find another way.'
"The California city has driven homicides to historic lows, and experts say part of the credit goes to a program that identifies people who are most likely to get pulled into gang violence and pairs them with life coaches to help turn their lives around."
Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/oakland-california-homicide-life-coaches-24c2f65eadbf916a1ab5f3305db02c15

Oakland homicides hit a near-60-year low with the help of life coaches
The California city of Oakland has driven homicides to historic lows by offering services including life coaches to people most likely to get pulled into gang-related shootings. Oakland Ceasefire-Lifeline uses relentless, tailored outreach to connect with people at highest risk of being a victim or shooter in an act of retaliation. They are offered social services and a life coach to help them turn around their lives. Fifty-seven people were murdered in Oakland last year, a record not seen since 1967. It is part of a national trend.

