The City of Long Beach is being represented by two youth representatives and city officials at a United States Department of Justice (DOJ) National Summit (Summit) on Youth Violence Prevention in Arlington, Virginia today, along with 14 other cities. The Summit began today and will last through Wednesday.

A city announcement on Monday said the delegation would present their safety plan that aims at reducing all forms of violence in Long Beach, called Safe Long Beach, tomorrow. In November 2014, Long Beach was one of five new cities selected to participate in the event.

“Our city is proud to be part of this important effort to prevent violence and support our young people,” Mayor Garcia said in a statement. “We’re working to strengthen our communities with our Violence Prevention Plan, internship programs, and the help of countless community partners, and we’re grateful to have the cooperation and support of the Department of Justice.”

According to the release, the Summit was created for cities to share best practices and other ideas in preventing youth violence, in addition to building communities with other states and DOJ officials. The Summit falls in line President Obama’s 2014 initiative, My Brother’s Keeper (MBK), which encourages communities to implement a “cradle to college-and-career strategy,” the release said.

Long Beach’s eligibility for the program is due to the Safe Long Beach Violence Prevention Plan, which was approved by city council in May of 2014 and addresses a broad safety agenda aimed at reducing all forms of violence, including domestic abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, hate crimes, bullying, gang violence, and violent crime.

The city’s designation to the forum last fall allowed the city to apply for federal grant awards to implement its Safe Long Beach Violence Prevention Plan. Long Beach established Safe Long Beach and its anti-truancy programs to be in line with MBK, a direct response to the President’s MBK Community Challenge.

“It is an honor to be recognized on a national platform for our City’s collective efforts toward protecting our youth, and preventing violence in families, schools, and communities,” said Mayor Robert Garcia in a statement last fall. “This designation will further support implementation of Safe Long Beach, providing a framework for Citywide safety and improved quality of life.”

Delegation members included Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert, Police Chief Robert Luna, Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Superintendent Christopher Steinhauser, and youth representatives Alan Feldman and Johnathan Coleman, among others. 

This article was updated on 5/13/15 at 10:57AM with the names of the delegation members.