For Immediate Release

National Contact: Patty Kuderer, Director of Communications,
206-910-2422
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WALKING TOGETHER TOWARD A DEPARTMENT OF PEACE

"Walk for Peace" Walkathons Attract Supporters Nationwide

[Washington, DC - September 17, 2007] Under weather conditions from threatening rain clouds to clear blue skies, hundreds of citizens across the country participated in a nationwide "Walk for Peace" last Saturday to raise public awareness of the deep need for increased efforts in violence reduction and prevention, and specifically to educate people on proposed legislation to create a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence. Walks were held in over 23 states. This is the second annual walkathon sponsored by The Peace Alliance, the nonprofit, non-partisan citizen action organization leading the rapidly growing national grassroots campaign to create a U.S. Department of Peace.

"We're not against anything. We're here for solutions," said Rick Gutierrez, director of the Southwest Florida grassroots Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace, who lead a peace walk in Naples, Florida. He believes creating a new federal agency in charge of addressing the root causes of violence is a much-needed tool for both military and nonmilitary organizations. "You need more than a hammer in your toolbox to address violence," he said.

A Department of Peace will focus on violence prevention and reduction, initially acting as a clearing house for existing programs proven effective at addressing all types of violence. "We are not taking full advantage of the hundreds of programs that currently exist that reduce and prevent violence in our country," said Peace Alliance Executive Director Dot Maver.

"Violence is an enormous problem here," she added, noting that, according to the FBI Crime Statistics Report, nearly 1.4 million violent crimes were reported in the United States in 2005. "This number doesn't include unreported crimes," Maver continued. "It's a sobering reminder that violence has become a leading public health issue that costs us billions of dollars every year."

Maver added that a 2004 World Health Organization report found that the United States spends between $300 billion and $500 billion per year on the after-effects of violence, not including war-related costs. "We have to get serious about preventing violence," Maver said. "We can't afford not to."

Domestically, the Department of Peace will research, propose and facilitate practical, field-tested solutions to reduce and prevent violence. It will provide additional and much-needed financial and institutional heft to strengthen and complement our current approach to violence, adding a much-needed focus on prevention through increased funding for local programs that are proven effective at reducing and preventing violence.

Internationally, the Department will advise the President and Congress on the most innovative techniques to establish and promote peace among nations, and will research and analyze the root causes of war to help prevent conflicts from escalating to the point of violence. It will create a Peace Academy, on par with the Military Service Academies, to build a world-class faculty of peacebuilding experts, many of whom currently live in the United States. They will analyze peacebuilding at the highest level, advise other branches of government, and expand the training of civilian and military peacekeepers.

Please visit www.thepeacealliance.org for more information on the legislation and the grassroots campaign.