A Texas foundation drew attention in Stockton this week when it announced it had brokered a “ceasefire” meeting among local gang leaders, but the city’s violence prevention office and local law enforcement said they couldn’t confirm the details of the meeting or the group’s plans.
The nonprofit Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, which says it formerly operated as the Uvalde Foundation for Kids, described the meeting as a “symposium with gang leadership” in a press release Monday. The gathering is scheduled for 9 p.m. today at an unspecified location, the foundation said in a follow-up release Thursday.
The announcements came in the days after a shocking shooting at a child’s birthday party near Thornton Road in north Stockton killed four people — including three children — and injured 13. While it remains officially uncertain whether the violence was gang-driven, the deaths renewed discussions of the impact of gang violence in Stockton.
The foundation says the goal of Friday’s planned meeting is to call on “all parties … to come to the table to honor the lives lost and secure a permanent ceasefire for the city,” according to a statement attributed to David Chapin, the organization’s founder.
The group didn’t provide other details about the meeting when asked by Stocktonia. Local violence prevention and law enforcement agencies said they had no further information about the group or its plans.
“We know exactly who we should be talking to, and we’re talking to them,” said Lora Larson, director of Stockton’s Office of Violence Prevention. “I don’t necessarily know that they’re even in the same contact with the same people that we’re in contact with.”
Group’s claims
Records show the IRS first recognized the group, under the Uvalde Foundation name, in August 2022 — three months after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 21 people.
The nonprofit is based in Temple, Texas, the IRS records show, located northeast of San Antonio and roughly a four-hour drive from Uvalde. According to its website, it aims to “serve communities by driving national cultural change to ensure the safety and sustained well-being of America’s youth.”
According to its press releases, following the shooting Chapin spent several days in Stockton. Stocktonia couldn’t independently verify this, and the organization didn’t immediately respond regarding whether Chapin was in Stockton as of today.
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The foundation also started a fundraiser for “juvenile victims” of the shooting, it stated. The group didn’t immediately respond to a question about who would receive the funds.
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office, which is spearheading the investigation into the north Stockton shooting, had no information about the meeting.
“I’ve only seen what media has sent me,” spokesperson Heather Brent said.
The Stockton Police Department was “unaware” of the planned meeting as of Thursday morning, spokesperson David Scott said. The Police Department doesn’t have enough information about the event to determine whether it poses any safety concerns, Scott said.
When asked how the foundation had reached representatives of Stockton’s known gangs it says it plans to convene, the group’s volunteer sent the following statement:
“Due to the high-stakes nature of these negotiations and the foundation’s core operating principles, we are unable to disclose information regarding the organization’s confidential contacts or the methods.”
In recent years, some media reports have raised questions about the foundation’s efforts in the wake of public safety incidents across the U.S.
While looking into the organization’s offers of support in the wake of a stabbing at a Santa Rosa high school in 2023, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat found that programs the nonprofit offered at times lacked formal structure. The organization also says its initiatives are run by local volunteers, the Press Democrat reported.
After the nonprofit reportedly said it was launching an investigation into school safety in East Lansing, Michigan, Chapin told the East Lansing Information he’d been among the first responders at the infamous Columbine High School shooting in 1999.
But when questioned further, Chapin modified his statement, saying he’d provided counseling and stress management to the Columbine first responders, the outlet reported. The newspaper couldn’t verify that claim, they reported.
Stockton’s ceasefire efforts
The city’s Office of Violence Prevention already runs ongoing programs to intervene in gang and gun violence, Larson said.
“There are ceasefire meetings that happen throughout the year in Stockton. Stockton has an active ceasefire strategy to address gang and gun violence,” said Larson, director of the Stockton violence prevention office.
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Each year, OVP holds a ceasefire meeting among people and groups the office has determined are most likely to be involved in gun violence. The office also holds safety meetings twice a month for the same demographic.
And it offers continuous help with job searching, mental health counseling, housing and other social services to provide an alternative to violence, Larson said.
“I don’t know what (the nonprofit’s) outreach would look like., I don’t know who they know in the community,” Larson said. “I hope they have the right connections.”
“There’s more to it than just saying put down the guns, stop the violence,” she said.