Richmond, California is the city covered in the film. The industrialization of the city for WWII led to people from all over the country coming to the area to work to win the war. After the war, the post-industrialization of the area led to many out of jobs. Eventually, housing policies were put in place to make it difficult for people of color to stay in certain neighborhoods.

Decades after the post-industrialization, the impacts of systemic racism and oppression were still strongly weighing on many in the area. This led to the Civil Rights Movement and Black Panthers having a strong presence and voice in Richmond and Oakland. After promises of the Civil Rights Movement fell flat, drugs and gun violence plagued the city.

Through the reimagining of public safety with programs like the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS), Richmond has been able to take a unique approach to reaching their youth and ending gun violence in their city. Situated just 24 minutes from San Quentin Prison, a leading rehabilitation facility for violent offenders, Richmond has been positively impacted by many individuals re-entering the community from this (and other) reformed institution(s), now rehabilitated and able to directly take on these issues.

Established in 1952, San Quentin State Prison is the oldest correctional institution in California, formed as an answer to the rampant lawlessness in California at the time. The prison rests overlooking the bay just 12 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Originally a stage four prison notorious for housing some of the most dangerous criminals in the world, it has since been reformed and taken down to a level two prison. With leading rehabilitation programs, it served as the right place for Vaughn Miles and many others to land.

Programs like GRIP Training Institute thrive now in this institution because of its reformed approach. The prison has now been renamed “San Quentin Rehabilitation Center” as it removes death row from its institution and primarily focuses on rehabilitation for individuals for trauma healing and hopefully community re-entry.

One of the key organizations involved in the positive spillover effect covered in the film, and that Vaughn Miles went through in his rehabilitation in San Quentin, is G.R.I.P. Training Institute. Rooted in principles of restorative justice principles, the GRIP Program’s trauma-informed model integrates cutting-edge neuroscience research. Students engage in a yearlong, in-depth journey to comprehend the origins of their violence and develop skills to track and manage strong impulses rather than acting out in harmful ways. They transform destructive beliefs and behaviors into an attitude of emotional intelligence that prevents re-victimization.

The GRIP program serves incarcerated people with life sentences for violent crimes. Between 2012-2022, close to 1,300 have graduated. Over 650 graduates have been released with a recidivism rate of less than 1%

Another organization involved in the positive spillover effect covered in the film, and that Vaughn Miles currently works at (as a Neighborhood Change Agent), is the Office of Neighborhood Safety (ONS) in Richmond.

ONS is a gun violence prevention and youth outreach initiative that serves all of Richmond. All Neighborhood Change Agents served time for violent crimes, underwent rehabilitation, and have since been released.

When ONS was created in around 2008 the city of Richmond (with a population roughly 100,000) experienced 46 homicides per 100,000 people per year. Last year that number was 3. The goal is still 0.