Over many years of grassroots organizing, direct action and street outreach, Chauntyll Allen has led violence prevention and intervention efforts, ranging from restorative justice debrief sessions, outreach healing events, community resource response work, and youth mentorship and outreach.
Continuing in our founder’s footsteps, Love First recognizes that community safety work must be holistic and comprehensive, involving our ancestor’s teachings, restorative practices, healing, community response, and youth mentorship.
Our approach centers:
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- The essential role of having the pulse of the community and identifying hot spots. Rather than waiting until there is a crisis, Love First is proactive in developing strategies and actions to address core issues before conflict or challenges become violent.
- Supporting youth to understand their history and cultural practices has a transformative impact on their sense of self. The healing work brings all the right pieces into the space to understand their own power and bring them into community. It empowers them to find their best selves and chart positive directions for the future.
During the summer of 2020, Love First joined the efforts of Guns Down, Love Up to hold spaces in the North End and North Minneapolis to address recent gun violence deaths involving youth which occurred in North End and North Minneapolis. Love First co-sponsored a successful march and day of restorative healing in the North End and provided support to the youth stationed at Winnipeg Market on Rice Street, in mourning.
In 2023, Sahara Jones — a Love First youth leader and HBCU Tour participant — led a series of workshops on traumatic bleed and overdose response, training more than 60 young people in North Minneapolis as part of our work with the Wellness Collaborative.
