LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As violence in Louisville continues to rise, there are people out in their communities trying to make things better.
“People want to change their neighborhoods. They want to affect change, they don’t want to sit around and watch things happen to them," said Tarsha Semakula, executive director of The Buttafly Group. "They want to go into the community and change how this community is progressing in regards to having a better quality of life. There's a big demand for that."
Semakula says that’s why, among its many services, The Buttafly Group provides support for people who want to start their own nonprofit or for-profit community agency.
“It's like a mission, it’s somewhat of a ministry, because I'm sort of behind the scenes in regards to just giving people an opportunity and giving them the tools that they need to have impact into community," Semakula said.
Boss Not Bangers founder Demetrius McDowell is one of many who have relied on Buttafly for their start.
A Boss Not Bangers flyer.
“I know where I come from, but I didn't know where I was going," McDowell said. "[Semakula] helped guide me there and with the paperwork and getting established as a 501c3.”
McDowell’s organization offers multiple initiatives for kids and the community as a whole.
McDowell, who says he’s a convicted felon, wants to use his life experience to help others choose better paths.
“I’ve started a new campaign, it’s called ‘Squash the Beef, Get the Money’ and that’s basically, turn yourself into an entrepreneur before you go out here getting into altercations that can ultimately cost you your life," said McDowell. "With the gun violence and things of that nature, I feel like that if we had more understanding and information on, you know, being more productive in the community, that we wouldn't have time for those things - especially if we were financially stable."
Artwork inside The Buttafly Group.
Semakula says aside from anti-violence organizations, nonprofit power also lies in getting people’s basic needs met and opening doors to opportunity.
"The violence in the community, to me, it's a cry for a sense of power people have they feel powerless, they don't have resources and so they’re basically in this community of lack," said Semakula.
That’s why she believes nonprofits are critical.
“They're the boots on the ground agencies that go and work with the people," Semakula said. "They address the needs that people have, in order to make their lives better and improve the quality of their lives.”
McDowell spread the word about Buttafly and hosted an event with Semakula to give others a chance to learn how they can start organizations of their own. Both believe the more boots on the ground there are, a better place Louisville will be.
“It's time for us to take charge of our homes, our communities, our financial resources, and definitely get behind each other because this was gonna take it's gonna take a village," McDowell said.
“I firmly believe that if we continue to empower people to create agency to affect change, we're going to see that change," Semakula said. "Now, it may not be on a big scale at first but if we just keep persevering going day by day, and just grabbing - getting one agency going, and another agency going, and the next thing you know we have a collection of agencies that are really going to make an impact in this community.”
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