LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The city of Louisville is using nearly $7 million in funding to expand what it calls "violence interruption sites," tasked with empowering neighborhood and community members to stop gun violence at the ground level.
The idea of the program, according to the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (OSHN), is to utilize "credible individuals" with connections in Louisville's highest-risk neighborhoods who will disrupt or prevent potentially violent situations.
OSHN said this community-led model is called Cure Violence, designed out of Chicago and used in several cities over the past two decades. The interrupters "will target the streets to identify and intervene in gang-related conflicts before they intensify," OSHN said in a news release Monday. And when a shooting does occur, interrupters will connect with victims' friends and relatives in an effort to prevent retaliation.
"It's individuals from the communities themselves that are reaching out to individuals that are involved in gun violence, resolving conflicts before they rise to the level of shootings, working with young people in the community to change their behavior (and) give them the support that they need," OSHN Director Paul Callanan said.
The city recently expanded the program it thanks to $6.9 million in funding — most of which comes from the American Rescue Plan — that will run through December 2024. The sites in Smoketown and Portland already existed.
OSHN now lists its active sites and their operating agencies as:
- Portland Neighborhood: No More Red Dots
- Shawnee Neighborhood: Interfaith Paths to Peace
- California Neighborhood: The Louisville Central Community Center
- Smoketown Neighborhood: YouthBuild Louisville
- Russell Neighborhood: West Chestnut Street Baptist Church
Previous reporting by WDRB News detailed how a program mentioning violence interrupters has had several starts and stops in the last few years, including millions in funding approved by Metro Council and concerns over questionable hiring and budget tightening. In 2019, Metro Council pulled funding for the program after learning that LMPD wasn't being consulted when interrupters are hired. At the time, the "violence interrupters" were intended to be ex-convicts or former gang members.
But then, in 2021, Metro Council passed an ordinance using $8 million in American Rescue Plan funding for the "violence interrupters" in the Portland and Smoketown neighborhoods.
On Tuesday, OSHN couldn't confirm who this version of the program will hire as interrupters, but news of expansion points to the city's faith that it can be successful. Kal Carey, site director at YouthBuild Louisville in Smoketown, said the team is deeply connected with the neighborhood and gets involved with families and individuals "sometimes at their lowest point."
"I think it makes a big difference when you walk up and (community members) automatically know that you're from there," Carey said.
OSHN hopes the on-the-ground efforts will help put an end to the city's trend of violence in recent years. Quinones Corniel, program manager for community outreach efforts at OSHN, said getting to the root cause of why someone is involved in crime is necessary to change behavior.
"The youth in this city want this violence to stop," Corniel said. "They want better for themselves. They just need the help and the resources and the guidance in order to achieve that success."
Corniel said he used to work in law enforcement in Louisville and saw a lot of crime, particularly involving the city's youth.
"Our program offers deep intervention with our clients," he said. "We spend a lot of one-on-one time with our clients. Each outreach coordinator is afforded a case load to work specifically with individuals throughout the week. So we're able to knock down certain barriers that keep an individual from living a life free of crime and be a productive citizen to society."
OSHN said it will be looking to see if the sites are effective, and that will be part of determining funding for the future.
"We're going to be putting a lot of pressure on our sites," Callanan said. "Did they make a result? Did they show a reduction in violence? Did they record that process of how they got there, as well, so we can replicate it?"
Callahan said the funding could be extended into 2025 and beyond if it proves to be successful.
Related Stories:
- Metro Council passes ordinance providing $8M to expand 'Violence Interrupters' program
- Louisville leaders consider old strategy to break cycle of violent crime
- Metro Council could slash problem-plagued department that uses ex-cons to prevent crime
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