Skipp Townsend

{{short description|American expert on gangs and former gang member}}

Skipp Townsend is an American gang expert from Los Angeles, California. For 27 years, he was a member of the Bloods gang; his first arrest came at age 13.{{cite web |title=Skip Townsend: There Was One Blood for Every 7 Crips/ His Home Gets Burned Down for Selling Crack |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdrJBj0N0Xc |website=YouTube}}

Townsend was raised in South Los Angeles. He attended a Catholic elementary school{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFuMbmA3Lug | title=Skip Townsend on Getting Jumped by 15 Rollin 60s Crips: My Mom Grabbed the Pistol to Make Them Pay | website=YouTube }} and went on to attend Dorsey High School, dropping out in his junior year.

Townsend is known for his role in several documentaries and movies: How to Make Money Selling Drugs;[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276962/?ref_=nmbio_mbio IMDb: How to Make Money Selling Drugs (26 December 2013 (UK))]' "The '80s: The Decade That Made Us,[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2801364/?ref_=nm_knf_t2 IMDb ] a television mini-series in which he played a former crack dealer;Crips and Bloods: Made in America, ESPN's Series 30 for 30,[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408430/?ref_=nm_knf_t4 IMDb: 30 for 30 (TV Series (2009–2016))], (1 episode, 2010) and the Gangland episode "One Blood".[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1243719/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm IMDb: Gangland (TV Series (2007– ))],

(1 episode, 2008) He also assisted the casting department in two episodes of T.I.'s Road to Redemption.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1374681/?ref_=nm_knf_t3 IMDb: T.I.'s Road to Redemption (TV Series (2009– ))]

Townsend also is well known in minority communities, and has a reputation for being among the first to arrive at a scene when shots have been fired.{{cite web | url=https://www.kcrw.com/culture/shows/below-the-ten-life-in-south-la/peacemakers-the-interventionist | title=Peacemakers: The Interventionist | Below the Ten: Life in South LA | date=28 March 2016 }}

Townsend is the co-founder and executive director of 2nd Call, a gang intervention non-profit,{{Citation |last=Deluca |first=Matthew |date=28 Apr 2012 |title=L.A. Riots Anniversary: Two Gang Members Remember |publisher=The Daily Beast |location=New York, NY |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/29/l-a-riots-anniversary-two-gang-members-remember.html |access-date=27 Nov 2016 | quote=Twenty years after the riots, Skipp Townsend tries to keep young South Central men out of the clutches of gangs as executive director of 2nd Call, a nonprofit intervention group.}} and board member of the Southern California Cease Fire Committee.{{Citation |last=Gillie |first=Nick |date=18 Sep 2013 |title=Cease Fire Interview: Skipp Townsend |work=The Huffington Post | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nick-gillie/cease-fire-interview-skip_b_3951017.html }}Board Member of the Southern California Cease Fire Committee. He is often interviewed as a pragmatic expert regarding police-public relations and as an "interventionist" regarding community conflicts.{{Citation |last=Brunhuber |first=Kim |date=7 Aug 2015 |title=L.A. gangs using social media to terrorize communities

|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/l-a-gangs-using-social-media-to-terrorize-communities-1.3181678 |access-date=27 Nov 2016 }}{{Citation |last=Lee |first=Elizabeth |date=10 Aug 2016 |title=L.A. Police, Blacks Say More Community Policing Needed |publisher=Voice of America |url=https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/la-community-policing/3458893.html |access-date=27 Nov 2016 }}

2nd Call was founded in 2005{{cite web |date=17 August 2016 |title=S.W.A.G.V. Is Helping to Save Lives |url=https://lasentinel.net/s-w-a-g-v-is-helping-to-save-lives-2.html}} as a community-based organization designed to save lives by reducing violence and assisting in the personal development of high-risk individuals, proven offenders, ex-felons, parolees, and others with society disregard. The organization provides alternatives to violence and abuse through intervention, counseling and support. It also provides a series of classes aiming to promote positive growth as well as post-release mentorship.{{cite web |title=Shanae Polk |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNZ2iMcTDEI |website=YouTube}} 2nd Call provides free quarter-proof classes and trauma classes.

The organization also encourages judges to send individuals to 2nd Call classes rather than to jail, and it offers a pathway to union careers in building trades such as electrical and construction.{{cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.2ndcall.org/ |website=2ndcall.org}} 2nd Call has helped an estimated 2,000-3,000 individuals.{{cite web |date=14 January 2022 |title=Community Champions: 2nd Call, a nonprofit works to uplift ex-offenders |url=https://www.foxla.com/news/community-champions-2nd-call-a-nonprofit-works-to-uplift-ex-offenders}}

2nd Call provides classes on domestic violence, parenting, anger management, and re-entry, in Los Angeles and Pasadena. The organization also helps keep at-risk youth out of gangs. Townsend often helps former offenders find jobs in construction or electrical work once they have completed the program.{{cite web | url=https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/pastors-protests-skipp-townsend/skipp-townsend-george-floyd-police | title='We have to change everything within the system': Skipp Townsend on policing | date=2 June 2020 }}

2nd Call works with activists and acts as a liaison between citizens and law enforcement and pushes for systematic changes in policing.

Townsend suggests that police officers address mental health and substance abuse: Having more community policing, law enforcement engaging with their communities more and understand any pain people may be feeling that relates to the involvement of police officers.{{cite web | url=https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/greater-la/pastors-protests-skipp-townsend/skipp-townsend-george-floyd-police | title='We have to change everything within the system': Skipp Townsend on policing | date=2 June 2020 }}

In 2020, Townsend supported dozens of formerly incarcerated individuals who helped build the SoFi stadium.{{cite web | url=https://www.foxla.com/news/community-champions-2nd-call-a-nonprofit-works-to-uplift-ex-offenders | title=Community Champions: 2nd Call, a nonprofit works to uplift ex-offenders | date=14 January 2022 }} During the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Southern California partnered with 2nd Call to help distribute protective supplies for community members, since many could not afford to buy masks.{{cite web | url=https://news.usc.edu/175319/covid-19-supplies-community-ppe-kits-usc-staff-university-relations/ | title=USC staff members help deliver critical COVID-19 supplies to neighbors in need | date=4 September 2020 }}