Violence doesn't happen in a silo, and violence isn't and shouldn't be normal. At the Violence Prevention Coalition we believe violence is learned. Therefore, alternatives to violence can also be learned. Violence is also complex. It comes from a system of poverty, inability to access resources, bad educational options, and a structure of policies that reinforce negative, rather than positive personal choices. Therefore, solutions to violence must be comprehensive, and collaborative. The Violence Prevention Coalition advocates for seeing violence as a public health issue -- it is killing our young people and our communities. Rather than seeing violence as something that can be solved through arrest and incarceration, we must respond to violence with the same level of urgency and investment in prevention and treatment we would any other lethal epidemic.