“Ask the Messengers got invited to the City of Detroit’s press conference at Adams Butzel Recreation Center to announce the 6 community based groups that were selected to help reduce gun violence in “hot spot” areas of the city.”

Each group to be responsible for its own crime hot spot area; can receive performance based grants for measurable crime reductions
Strong community response allows City to double number of planned target areas
Innovative approach being paid for through President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act
Contracts being submitted to City Council this week

6 Community Partners selected for neighborhood Community Violence Initiative contracts

25 applications were received – 6 were so strong that city increased awards from originally-announced plan to select 3-5.
Proposed contracts funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act are being submitted to Council for approval this week, with the hope of having groups approved and working in the community by July 1.
Each group will serve a defined geographic area, with the ability to earn performance grants up to $175K per quarter based on success reducing violence.

Mayor Mike Duggan today announced that six community-based organizations have been selected through a competitive bid process to conduct community violence intervention (CVI) through the new ShotStoppers program. That number is more than the 3-5 the city originally intended, but 6 proposals were so strong, the Mayor is asking Council to expand the original scope of the program.

Each selected group is responsible for reducing homicides and shootings in a 3.5 to 4.5 square mile area, called a CVI Zone, using their own violence prevention strategy. Applicants were empowered to propose a specific approach based on their experience, expertise, and knowledge of the local community.

Each contractor will receive a quarterly base budget of $175,000 to execute their prevention strategy. In any quarter the contractor’s efforts reduce serious violence by 10 percentage points more than the city as a whole, they will receive an additional $87,500 in prevention funding and in any quarter, they outperform the rest of the city by 20 percentage points, they will receive an additional $175,000.

The program is funded by the American Rescue Plan. Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison, who led the program’s development, announced the 6 groups selected:

Detroit Peoples Community
Detroit 300
New Era Community Connection
Force Detroit
Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Denby Neighborhood Alliance, and Camp Restore
Detroit Friends and Family

Together, these organizations have decades of experience preventing and responding to violence – but ShotStoppers will be the first time that the City of Detroit provides funding to strengthen and expand CVI services and measure results to determine which approaches work best.

Bettison indicated that the contracts will be submitted to City Council this week, with the goal of beginning CVI services by July 1, in time for the peak summer months when violence typically rises. The community groups will have one month to ramp up their programs before the City begins measuring their performance on August 1.