Ameena Matthews, a "violence interrupter" has experience with street violence and steering young men and women in the right direction, away from the chaos. Ameena works to strengthen the communities in her neighborhood and beyond to offer them formal social control and assist them in responding in non-violent ways towards issues that affect them. She has dedicated much of her life as a "Community Activist for Peace Building and Social Change". In 2006, Ameena joined "Ceasefire", an award-winning scientific public health model that has been proven to reduce shootings and killings. She has sought out and built relationships with troubled youths who are susceptible to the social norms of violence that still exist on the streets.  A "Senior Violence Interrupter" is a highly "Specialized Violence Intervention Expert" who works to mediate conflict on the front end to stop the transmission of violence from one person to another. Her reputation and connection to the community provides her access to intercept the whispers that may lead to a homicide.

As testament to her success with this program, her personal influence in the West Inglewood Beat 35 community where she works has allowed her to mediate over 65 conflicts, organized over 49 shooting responses, worked with over 75 high-risk participants and organized over 10 peace summits in 2011.

 

* Biography reference: Women in Islam, Inc.

 

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