Oakland is in crisis. With a grim milestone of 120 homicides to date, Oaklanders are scared, angry, and frustrated. It is not enough for us to merely extend our thoughts and prayers, nor is it sufficient to host yet another rally/vigil that is attended only by those who would never consider picking up a gun in the first place. Faith without works is dead, and it is time for those of us in positions of leadership to roll up our sleeves and get to work improving safety and quality of life for our family, friends, and neighbors. This is why yesterday, I announced my Stand Together Against Losing Lives "TALL" Oakland I believe that we should be laser-focused on the following five goals, and that after accomplishing them we will have created the safer Oakland that we need and deserve:  

1. Double the solve rate for violent crimes
2. Double the capacity of successful violence interruption and crime deterrence program
3. Reduce by half the number of unanswered 911 calls 
4. Reduce disparities in public safety response within Oakland and across Alameda County
5. Increase access to effective mental health resources

Aligned to each goal is a specific call to action for one or more local agencies. It is my hope and desire that this call to action can be used to align our activities across the various government agencies and community stakeholder groups in a way that has not been done. Our neighbors don’t care about district or city boundaries, nor do they care about which agency has jurisdiction over another: they simply want to be safe as they live, work, learn, and play here. Join us in our fight!