Earlier this year, Lyn Jackson was named chief executive officer for Peace City, a community-based violence intervention organization whose mission is to build peace and reduce gun violence in Oklahoma City.  

Jackson brings a wealth of experience to the organization, including past work in criminal justice reform and policy, community outreach, and organizational training and operations. We caught up with Jackson to see what she’s working on, and what’s on the horizon for Peace City.

Q: What has been the first order of business in your new role? 

The first order of business was to observe and identify how my I can positively impact the organization. That lead to insulating the operations of our program from the instability and chaos of the political and funding environments. This has been a difficult year for non-profits and justice organizations. Ensuring that our staff can focus on their work supporting community and reducing gun violence has been the priority.

Q: How do you think your prior professional experience has equipped you to lead the organization?

My time working in male prisons and halfway houses, overseeing a 50-bed male treatment program, women’s 40-bed treatment program, working with criminal justice advisory, OCDC and Oklahoma County courthouse has given me broad exposure to various management perspectives in the justice field, and I employ some of those skill sets. But my leadership at Peace City is primarily informed by my life as someone born and raised on the Eastside—someone with a whole family, multiple generations of men, women, elders, children, and young adults, who have lived through so many of the adversities we are tackling today. I have seen first-hand the effects that gun violence has had in our community. My professional experience has given me the opportunity to bring new and effective strategies to addressing the systemic conditions we have always faced. We are not only reducing gun violence but also positively impacting families and the community as a whole. It feels like a divine opportunity to bring the professional and educational experience I have acquired over the last 20 years working outside of my community back home.

Q: A small number of high-risk individuals are responsible for most gun homicides in many cities. (Up to 70% of gun homicides) Can you explain Peace City’s approach to identification of those individuals and violence intervention?

The research lines up with those of us who have lived in this community, and we know that: 1) there really aren’t that many people who are involved in gun violence; 2) most of those who are involved don’t want to be; and 3) it is predominantly adults involved in gun violence—not kids. Those adults are looking for a way out—a path out of their circumstance and a path to safety. At Peace City, we take a whole human approach. Humans have needs, and when basic human needs are unmet, we can expect humans to engage in high-risk behaviors. We help to meet those glaring unmet needs. Unmet needs can be guidance, mentorship, therapy, safe group setting, family intervention and more.

Q: The mayor recently posted about declining violence rates; what part does Peace City play in the grand scheme of violence in Oklahoma City?

Well, there are many societal, economic, and institutional factors that impact the outcomes of crime and violence in our city, and so there is a lot of credit to go around. So much of our impact is defined by things that don’t happen! What I can say is that over the past 2 years, we have been working tirelessly to reduce shootings in our community. At Peace City, we are celebrating that this timeline corresponds with a reduction in shootings. In real life, this means less trauma, pain, and suffering in our community.

Q: How important is this work specifically to the Eastside?

Up until recently (the last 5 years) being from the “Eastside” or publicly representing the “Eastside” was not marketable or popular. It was not a badge of honor among the community or community leaders. It was rarely respected, and its association was looked down upon. For me, Peace City embodies a way to take action by serving the unheard, unseen, overlooked and ignored fragments within our community instead of just talking about it. Giving Peace City the opportunity to lead our community in a positive impactful way is extremely important to the Eastside. At Peace City our goal is not visibility, it’s impact.

Q: What are some ideas that you are excited to implement? 

I don’t want to jump ahead of the team by announcing our future ideas but be on the lookout for a Peace City Community Event announcement. I will also share a staff idea that was put to action and implemented June of this year. Our Peacemakers realized that most men from our community that were raised without male figures in the home, or did not have a safe family structure were never taught how to resolve conflict without violence/gun violence. We implemented a Conflict Resolution class where men can share and learn multiple ways to resolve conflict and cope with the unfair pressures of their environment without violence. This class helps to improve how they handle conflict in all spheres, circumstances and relationships of their life.

Q: Can you share a success story? 

When working in community violence intervention, we must be very mindful how we share success stories, especially when it comes to details, pictures of participants and names due of the nature of the work and safety for those involved. What I can tell you is there has been several occasions where violence was not carried out due to the intervention of our Peacemakers. That is our goal and the impact we want to continue to have.

Q: What else do you want people to know about Peace City? 

Peace City Oklahoma is a community violence intervention program that is here to serve what society views as the lost cause: the ones who were incarcerated and not rehabilitated; the families left behind to pick up the pieces; the angry fathers; the grieving mothers; the abandoned sons and daughters; and the tired grandmothers. We are here to work for the community. We are here to support and improve our community with authenticity and integrity. Peace City Oklahoma is here to reduce gun violence, love on our community, and reduce cycles that have been destroying our families for decades. Peace City understands it has taken years of systematic setbacks to get to this point and it may take even longer to see our work come full circle.