Supporting Civilians in the United States
Protecting democracy & reducing political violence
Nationwide
Across the United States we are dedicated to proactively addressing political violence and safeguarding civic spaces through Unarmed Civilian Protection and community-driven resilience. As political violence increasingly threatens vulnerable communities, our teams work alongside local groups and human rights defenders, using nonviolent strategies to protect individuals and reduce harm. From civic engagement to protests, we train communities and organizations to de-escalate tensions, monitor risks, and provide a protective presence that supports communities to exercise their human rights and amplify their voices.
By cultivating collaboration, solidarity, trust, and nonviolence-centered approaches, we strengthen communities from within, creating safer spaces for everyone to engage openly and without fear.
Our work extends beyond immediate protection; we aim to build sustainable ecosystems for safety that empower communities to resist violence and foster resilience in the face of centuries of harm.
Through comprehensive training on building threat assessments, Early Warning Early Response, creating Safety Teams and Capacity Mapping, we equip local communities and organizations with the tools to respond proactively to threats and ensure their civic spaces remain open, inclusive and safe. By supporting communities facing political violence, we support a vision of a world where safety and human rights are upheld not by force but by solidarity and collective action.
For more resources visit our Linktree and training offerings. If your group or organization is interested in receiving support or training from Nonviolent Peaceforce, please complete our intake form.
Mutual Protection and Safety
New York, NY
New York City faces a range of public safety challenges, from rising hate crimes and violent incidents to concerns about the safety of vulnerable communities, including immigrants, people of color, and LGBTQ+ individuals in public spaces and on the transit systems. In response to the rise in violent hate crimes in New York City, we collaborate with the Asian American Federation (AAF) and organizations representing Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities to deliver training in upstander intervention and situational awareness skills. Our efforts have supported the development of coordinated safety teams, supported a safe walk program, offered accompaniment to individuals who feel unsafe walking alone, and we’ve equipped volunteers to serve as safety companions within designated safe zones for those in need.
The New York team has spent the last three years working alongside marginalized communities and organizations to build capacity to address safety concerns and violent incidents that are culturally informed and grounded in Unarmed Civilian Protection.
One of the New York team’s many accomplishments has been their support of Mrs. Vilma Kari, a survivor of a brutal anti-Asian hate crime in 2021, and her daughter, Elizabeth Kari, during court proceedings with Mrs.Kari’s attacker. After Elizabeth reached out to the New York team, our staff met with Mrs. Kari and Elizabeth to develop proactive safety measures to ensure Mrs. Kari’s safety during her Victim Impact Statement and hearing at the court. The agreed upon methods included providing protective presence and accompaniment.
Elizabeth shared the impact of having our staff in attendance, “I felt confident knowing that there was a safety plan, and by having NP present. I didn’t have to think about my mother’s safety the whole time since I knew that NP was there to offer support to us throughout.” That day, the team remained with Vilma and Liz until their ride arrived.
Dr. Kevin Nadal, a Professor of Psychology at two colleges in NYC, and supporter of the Kari family, shared, “The world would be a better place if every survivor had a group like Nonviolent Peaceforce on their side.”
Along with the direct protection of Mrs. Kari, the New York team has built relationships across communities by providing leadership and guidance on establishing Community Safety Teams for the protection of civic and community spaces; partnering with Muslim and Jewish community groups to build a safety ecosystem grounded in mutual protection and care; led Safety Teams to protect vulnerable community leaders advocating for their human rights and dignity.
Raquel Willis, writer and activist, has experienced NP’s safety support on numerous actions including the 2020 and 2021 Brooklyn Liberation marches. She shared, “In a protest era of increased brutality and surveillance, Nonviolent Peaceforce has played an instrumental role in defending and protecting queer and trans leaders, particularly of color, on-the-ground. Perhaps even more transformative has been the commitment of NP leaders like Kalaya’an Mendoza in educating folks to take care of themselves and others regardless of experience level.”
Building Community Capacity
San Diego, CA
San Diego is home to a vibrant network of community-based organizations addressing pressing problems and pushing for transformative change. At the same time, San Diegans, alongside the state and country, are experiencing a rebound in hate-based incidents, violence, and attacks that demonstrate an underlying need to build greater capacity for community-led protection and holistic safety. NP was invited to San Diego to build an ecosystem of organizations and community members working to implement unarmed civilian protection strategies. In August 2024, our team facilitated a two-day Safety Convening to equip organizations serving LGBTQIA+, AAPI, Black, and youth communities with tools to assess threats, map capacities, and craft early warning early response protocols. As a part of our program in San Diego, NP will continue to coach, train, and facilitate convenings to build community capacity for Unarmed Civilian Protection.
NP is presently working toward a future where San Diego has a strong, interdependent safety ecosystem of community organizations and civilians. This ecosystem will have the capacity to both proactively assess threats/mitigate risks and engage in rapid response as emergent safety needs arise within the community.
Community Peacebuilding
Minneapolis, MN
In 2022 we created the Community Peacebuilding program in North Minneapolis, a community that has experienced persistence disinvestment and violence. Through the program our goal is to bring about a transformation in community safety by providing communities with the skills and tools to create a grassroots-led, alternative, and nonviolent response to conflict. Community-led safety includes developing an early warning system for community members to prevent or mitigate conflict, providing a protective presence when community members feel vulnerable, and providing training to community members and community safety teams so that they can actively anticipate how to keep themselves and their neighbors safe.
Starting in early 2024, our Community Peacebuilding team gets to know the community and establishes our presence in the neighborhood outside our Hub for Nonviolence and Safety by offering a weekly time to share coffee, lemonade, and treats on the sidewalk. We talk with our neighbors and pick up trash on the corner. The community has come to expect this presence and started joining in our efforts to keep the corner clean and safe. One of the people who hangs out on the corner told us “because ya’ll are here, we have stopped beating our women out here. We are keeping the bus stops safe.” This is the power of providing a consistent, nonviolent presence and building relationships.
In addition to street outreach, our Community Peacebuilders also hold regular activities with youth. This work is aimed at upstream alternative response or violence prevention. Many youth on the Northside are at risk of using violence and being a victim to it. By facilitating regular youth healing circles we are building relationships with the youth, understanding the challenges they face, and mentoring them to take different paths than resorting to violence. During Spring Break our team held a Nonviolence Camp, where we taught nonviolence and violence prevention tactics in kid-friendly ways to 12-14 kids each day.
The Community Peacebuilding program continues to grow with investments in peacebuilding work with youth and women in particular.
Bridging Rural Divides
Rural Minnesota, MN
Since 2022, NP has worked with community partners in rural Minnesota to address the threat of political violence. This work has been done in cooperation with the Region 5 Development Commission and The Sewing Room in the greater Brainerd Lakes region of central Minnesota and the Northspan Group in the Cloquet/Fond-du-Lac and Grand Marais/Cook County areas of northeastern Minnesota. This work has included community sensing through surveys, interviews, and story circles, followed by the co-creation of training and implementation plans for each context.
Since 2024 we have been co-facilitating trainings and community-events for building trust, networks, common language, and local leadership to address the needs expressed around safety during the project. In 2025, this project will transition to its final phase where local organizations and community members will take ownership of the work going forward. NP will continue to provide coaching, consultation, and other activities in dialogue with local actors.