visit them at home, call them weekly, and make sure they aren’t lacking food, clothing, and other essentials. The team members will also help with finding jobs. If trouble erupts, they are available to help these young people to avoid it. The goal is to help high-risk youth put their lives on a better, healthier path. “We are collectively committed to change violent behavior of young people by showing them love and respect and by giving them hope for a better life,” Ms. Davis Bellamy says. She says her team doesn’t look at people who have committed violence as “bad,” but rather as people who have made “poor choices.” Philadelphia CeaseFire is based at the Temple University School of Medicine. The group is part of Cure Violence, a national organization that seeks to reduce gun violence throughout the country. Ms. Davis Bellamy views violence as a public health problem. It is a serious one. Over a recent six-year period, 5,051 Philadelphians ages 14 to 24 were wounded or killed in violent incidents, according to a city task force. “We look at violence as an epidemic,” she says. “So many lives are being lost. We can actually prevent those arguments from escalating into gun violence.” Her organization wants to “interrupt” situations that can escalate into violence. In 2014, the group Marla Davis Bellamy Building relationships to encourage peace Marla Davis Bellamy believes people can change for the better—including people who have gotten themselves on the wrong side of the law. When trouble brews, she tries to untangle them from situations that can lead to violent behavior. To do that, she visits prisons to talk to inmates, rides the subway to hand out leaflets, and holds meetings in a large recreational vehicle that travels around North Philadelphia neighborhoods. Of course, she doesn’t do this alone. As the director of Philadelphia CeaseFire, she works with a staff that’s dedicated to preventing people from hurting others or being hurt themselves. Their efforts rely in part on a team of men and women who have turned their own lives around after serving time in prison. Ms. Davis Bellamy calls these team members “violence interrupters.” They know well the problems some people face that can lead to life-threatening decisions. By working in the community, these credible mes- sengers build positive relationships with young people at risk of getting into serious trouble. They 14