Urban Peace Institute

Founded in 2006, Urban Peace Institute (UPI) develops and implements innovative solutions to address community violence and engage in system reform. UPI was previously a project of Community Partners, and in 2021, grew to become an independent nonprofit organization. The organization remains committed to preventing and reducing violence, achieving safety, and improving community health. Now, UPI’s mission is to create community safety and dismantle harmful systems to transform justice and ensure freedom from violence.

Rooted in the past and current struggles for justice and equity, Urban Peace Institute has successfully reduced gun and gang violence to historic lows, trained over 5,000 peacemakers in public health approaches to reduce violence, as well as championed transformational justice reforms to dismantle the youth incarceration system.