Philadelphia CeaseFire Program Manager Meets with President Obama

Most people never get to shake the hand of a U.S. president, much less sit down and talk to him for half an hour.

But that’s how a recent meet and greet with President Barack Obama went for Robert Warner, Program Manager for Philadelphia CeaseFire, a non-profit organization based within Temple University School of Medicine’s Center for Bioethics, Urban Health and Policy.

On July 14, Warner and three others met with President Obama backstage before his address to the national NAACP convention in Philadelphia. Warner was caught by surprise when he received a call from the White House inviting him to the meeting.

“I’m told I got invited because of the work that I do in the community and with helping offenders reestablish their lives after getting out of prison,” he said. “I was someone who changed my life around, but I was still very shocked when I was invited.”

Warner found the president easy to talk to.

“He came off just like a regular person,” Warner said. “He seemed to understand where we were coming from, and it was exciting to be able to sit there and talk to him.”

Warner says he was impressed with President Obama’s welcoming demeanor. He listened as Warner and the other three men took turns sharing their stories, and he asked for their thoughts on national incarceration rates—a subject Warner knows firsthand through his work with Philadelphia CeaseFire and in the community.

“I told the president to keep up the good work, to keep fighting for reentry,” said Warner. “I also thanked him for recognizing that we have a problem in our society … that we are spending too much money on prisons when it could be going to education.”

Education is one of the missions of Philadelphia CeaseFire – a nationwide, evidence-based violence intervention program which has been proven to decrease instances of gun violence in urban areas. The Philadelphia chapter seeks to reduce the number of homicides and shootings in North Philadelphia using five core components: community outreach, community mobilization, public education, faith-based involvement, and criminal justice participation.

Warner and his team of eight outreach workers and one violence interrupter canvas the 22nd police district, intervening and working with individuals between the ages of 14 and 25 who participate in high-risk crimes. Outreach team members act as youth mentors, coaching them on how to get out of the violent lifestyle that often ends with gun violence.  

In the coming weeks, Philadelphia CeaseFire will put the finishing touches on a plan to expand its outreach program into several of the city’s Level One trauma centers, including Temple’s, to offer real-time guidance and support to victims of violence. The idea is to immediately engage trauma patients who experience a violent injury.

“There are high-risk individuals who are being treated and released before we are able to engage them,” said Marla Davis Bellamy, Director of Philadelphia CeaseFire. “This gives us an opportunity to support them as they go through that experience and, more importantly, direct them toward more positive behavior or services that may benefit them.”

In the fall, Philadelphia CeaseFire will also bring on board two more outreach workers who will be placed at Gratz Mastery High School.

“Our role will be to talk to the kids and help them get their frustrations out,” Warner said. “It’s nice to help a young person who wants to change their life around.”