Dominique Davis founded Community Passageways in 2017 with a vision for zero youth incarceration, but when he noticed a spike in gun violence last year, he decided that even more needed to be done.
With that in mind, 30 Days of Peace was created with the support of the Seattle City Council, a program that would get youth at risk for gun violence out of the city.
A short documentary film called “16 Lives,” presented by the Seahawks, was made last year to tell the story of the 30 Days of Peace Program, and over the weekend that film won a Northwest Regional Emmy Award in the category of Diversity/Equity/Inclusion – Long Form Content.
The 30 Days of Peace program took 16 at-risk young men out of Seattle for 30 days in Phoenix and Los Angeles, with those youth paid a stipend for their participation, which included attending mentorship, group therapy, life skills training, and leadership development sessions. The experience was captured in a documentary titled "16 Lives," a film presented by the Seahawks.
"Our community is unsafe for our young black people," Davis says in the film. "It's time for us to start doing something different. When we bring these young people back, if we just get 10 of them fulltime jobs and good housing situations, we did great. Every penny was worth it. The words don't need to be, 'We took these black kids out of the community, and let's see if we can get fewer shootings happening.' The words need to be, 'What is your responsibility as a politician? What is your responsibility as a business owner? What is your responsibility as a housing institution?' We've got 16 lives that are being saved right now. Sixteen lives, how much is that worth? You tell me a value of how much 16 lives are worth? And now, we're stepping in and saying the community has the answers—community healing community, period."
The Emmy-winning team of filmmakers included Seahawks assistant director of video production, Madeline Down, who served as managing producer on the film, as well as director Gavin P. Sullivan, director/editor Bryan Tucker, associate producer Diojanique Davis and camera operator Nik Harper.
"16 Lives" is the second short feature produced by the Seahawks, Down, Sullivan and Tucker to win an Emmy after “Out of the Fire,” which tells the story of Community Passageways, won in 2020 in the category of Public/Current/Community Affairs – Program/Special.
