🟦Nonviolence in Action: What It Takes to Prevent Violence
Organizations working to prevent violence, respond to it, and build safer ways to live together.
A domestic violence call ends in tragedy.
A teenager is shot in a neighborhood dispute.
An election worker gets threats for doing their job.
These stories are usually covered on different beats—crime, education, politics, for example. Each comes with its own facts and debate.
This series highlights organizations working across these and other issues. Some respond after violence occurs. Others work to prevent it. Many do both. Their goal is to reduce violence over time and replace weak systems with stronger ones.
Their work includes protecting survivors, holding offenders accountable, and building safer communities through education, intervention, and policy change. Some approach violence as a public health issue. Others focus on civil rights or justice reform. Many use mediation, restorative justice, and nonviolent communication to resolve conflict before it escalates.
Taken together, these efforts reflect a simple idea: Enforcement matters, but it is not enough. Reducing violence also depends on better systems, stronger communities, and earlier intervention.
The resources in this series include national and local organizations offering research, legal advocacy, crisis support, training, and practical ways for people to get involved. Some focus on specific forms of violence. Others work across several areas. All offer ways for individuals to support safer, more just communities.
The first guide in this series—Gun Violence Prevention—highlights organizations working to reduce gun violence through policy, prevention, and community action.
Future guides in this series will focus on:
Family, sexual, and vulnerable-person violence
Youth and community violence
Policing, custody, and state violence
Political, hate-based, and digital violence
Peacebuilding, de-escalation, and restorative justice
Each guide will highlight organizations, key issues, and ways to take action. The aim is practical: to help readers understand the landscape and find meaningful ways to be part of the solution.
Related guide
Confronting Hate, Extremism, and Authoritarianism—in the Rights and Freedoms section
A ranked guide to organizations working to expose, resist, and prevent movements that threaten civil rights, human dignity, and democratic norms.