LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) --Â While gun violence in Louisville has dropped nearly 40% over the past two years, city officials and community leaders say there is still work to be done to make neighborhoods safer.
Paul Callanan, director of the city's Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (OSHN), acknowledged the progress but stressed the need for continued efforts.
"Gun violence in our city has gone down nearly 40 percent in the last couple of years," Callanan said. But even with the downward trend, OSHN believes more needs to be done.
That's why Goodwill Industries of Kentucky is partnering with Volunteers of America, OSHN, and UofL Hospital to expand the Pivot to Peace program, which aims to reduce gun violence by working directly with those affected.
"We utilize people who are from the community who have personal or professional experience based on their backgrounds and utilize their services to go back into the community and help people who we are serving," said Darleen Horton, program director for Pivot to Peace at Goodwill.
Goodwill recently received a $3 million, two-year federal contract to operate Louisville's community violence intervention sites in the Algonquin, Park Hill, Taylor Berry, Russell, and Newburg neighborhoods.
"We're just now starting this initiative," Horton said. "We've had boots on the ground since November. Our main focus right now is training and developing our team."
The program will connect people between the ages of 14 and 35 to resources and services aimed at breaking cycles of violence.
"They work from 2 to 10 p.m.," said Kimberly Moore, a consultant for Goodwill. "They're out in neighborhoods talking to people impacted by the violence, referring them to Goodwill and VOA."
Reducing gun violence also involves re-entry programs for individuals leaving incarceration. To help with the transition, OSHN recently secured a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to assist adults and juveniles exiting custody who may be at risk of engaging in gang violence.
"We’re looking at how to get ahead of that and start working with them before they get out," Callanan said.
City leaders hope these initiatives will continue to make Louisville’s streets safer.
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