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CBS News
12-06-2025
- CBS News
Violence interventionists call for "sustainable funding" at Michigan Advocacy Day
Organizers estimate upwards of 1,000 people came out for the third annual Community Violence Intervention Advocacy Day at the Michigan State Capitol. The goal was to lobby for more sustainable funding and call attention to the work community violence intervention groups do to prevent loss of life. Community violence intervention takes many forms, and that work looks different depending on who you ask. But on Thursday in Lansing, groups from across the state came together for a common goal. "We want to see our communities freer, we want to see our communities safer," Dujuan Zoe Kennedy, executive director of FORCE Detroit, said. Zoe Kennedy said their goal is to advocate for more funding. "Sustainable funding, not funding for a year, two years," Zoe Kennedy said. "We demand that we get sustainable funding like any other front-line worker in the public safety field." William Nickolson with Beat Da Odds said violence intervention work can vary. "We're in neighborhoods, we're in schools on a day-to-day basis, we're at rec centers, we're at the juvenile detention facilities, we're doing mentoring, we're doing re-entry type work. We're just trying to fill in the gaps wherever we can to be a resource to the youth," he said. The advocates broke into smaller groups to visit with lawmakers in their offices. "We're going into the office very calm and collected and offering them this package to consider — the crowd today — to consider what's most important: that we want babies to live, families to live, communities safe," Pastor Maurice L. Hardwick said. "We want them to partner with us. Don't fight us, unite with us." For Sherri Scott, who lost her daughter to gun violence back in 2019 because of a shooting at a park, community violence intervention is about changing a mindset. "Leave your guns at home. Do not just pull out a gun because you're upset with someone. You've got to be able to rectify the situation, and that's what a bunch of the CVI groups out here are doing, because they step in and they stop the beef or whatever they got going on before it escalates," she said.
CBS News
04-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Detroit crime reduction groups losing federal grant money
As community organizations across the country are seeing significant cuts to their federal funding, one Detroit group is bracing for impact and the potential loss of resources. In April, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office for Justice Programs cut about $500 million in funds nationwide, with Michigan agencies statewide losing nearly $6.8 million. "That's a significant cut for us. We use those fundings for our staff, the individuals who go out into the community and put their lives on the line on a daily basis," said Ciera Renee, Director of Programs for FORCE Detroit. One nonprofit affected, FORCE Detroit, is a local organization that supports at-risk youth and offers workforce development and other forms of support to people and communities impacted by violence. "A big hit that we've taken is just in the uncertainty that our staff have now, as far as, like, what does that mean for them tomorrow? Is their job going to be available for them tomorrow?" said Renee. It's work that relies on resources, like securing food, shelter and mental health support, which leads to significant strides in crime reduction. In response to the move, FORCE Detroit will head to Lansing on June 12 as part of Community Violence Intervention Day to lobby state lawmakers for support. "We've got some data that shows that we have actually reduced crime; we've saved the city $33.1 million just by reducing those crimes," said Renee. Maurice Hardwick knows the power of that work firsthand. Known as "Pastor Mo," he says FORCE Detroit and other groups like it play a key role in not only stopping what he calls the "birth" of violence in a neighborhood but also leaving the tools to keep it from growing. "You have to have people to go in the community that come from it, that understand it, that's not scared, number one, and have the respect to get in there to deal with that. If you remove that, you're saying, 'Go ahead and have a free-for-all,'" said Hardwick, creator of the Live in Peace Movement. Organizers say these funding cuts could lead to lasting and potentially irreparable damage to the community. "Lives are at risk. When funding goes away for community violence intervention, people could die," said Renee.
CBS News
22-05-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Metro Detroit nonprofit awaits impact of spending bill cuts
After an 11th-hour vote ahead of Speaker Mike Johnson's Memorial Day deadline, House Republicans narrowly passed the Trump administration's sweeping tax and spending cuts package, paving the way for the elimination of nearly $880 billion from energy and health care programs over the next 10 years. "We were devastated. Like, the bare minimum of this is that what we do saves lives," said Ciera Renee, Director of Programs for FORCE Detroit. Renee is the director of programs for FORCE Detroit, a nonprofit organization that supports at-risk youth and offers workforce development and other forms of support to people and communities impacted by violence. Last fall, FORCE Detroit was awarded $2 million to fund and support its work through 2027, but in April, it found out almost all of it is now gone. "This evidence-based work that we do has literally saved our taxpayers $31.3 million, so if you just think about it in terms of the math, doesn't math," said Renee. Renee says much of the funding goes to paying employees — the ones she says are responsible for running some of their most successful outreach initiatives. "The individuals that we are out here doing the ground, boots-on-the-ground doing the work, we no longer have opportunities to allow them to do this work," said Renee. In response to the move, FORCE Detroit has partnered with four other nonprofit organizations in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Seattle to file a class-action lawsuit to stop the Trump administration's actions. "It's tough work, right? It's also not even fair to ask someone to do the work for free, because it is lifesaving work," said Renee. Now, Renee says her team is focused on ensuring their community doesn't feel the strain and will try to provide as much support as long as possible. "This is a nonpartisan issue. This is not a racial issue. This is about literally saving lives, so the impact of that will not just be felt localized — it'll be felt throughout," said Renee.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Police officials applaud lawmakers as they progress public safety and violence prevention package
Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison talks to lawmakers on the Michigan House Government Operations Committee about the need for public safety funding on April 17, 2025 | Photo: Anna Liz Nichols In 2024, Detroit saw the lowest number of homicides recorded in the city since 1965, a triumph Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison told lawmakers Thursday was achieved in large-part by community violence intervention programs that he says would be able to continue doing effective work if legislators pass a proposed state Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund. Bettison and police chiefs from Dearborn, Taylor, Livonia and other municipalities came to the Michigan House Government Operations Committee to offer support for a $115 million Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund being considered by lawmakers with the goal of distributing funds to local law enforcement to curb violent crime. Community violence intervention, or CVI, programs such as ShotStoppers, Detroit Friends & Family and FORCE Detroit were able to reduce violent crime by up to 70% in some service areas between November 2023 and January 2024, a report from the city found. The three programs in the report engage trusted community members in Detroit neighbors to implement tailored approaches to reduce gun violence in the city. And though the fund will help to save lives in cities with higher crime rates like Detroit and Flint, Bettison said, many municipalities in Michigan will dramatically benefit from being able to form or strengthen their own CVI programs to curb violence. Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) went through a list off estimated distributions for communities the members on the committee represent: $176,000 for Owosso, $1.9 million for Flint, $261,000 for Waterford Township, $50,000 for Ludington, nearly $500,000 for Muskegon, $3.2 million for Grand Rapids and $1.1 million for Warren. In Dearborn, one of Michigan's most populous cities and neighbor to Detroit, City Police Chief Issa Shahin said in addition to investing in CVIs, his department plans on using funds to hire more staff and officers to respond faster to calls and engage more proactively with neighborhoods before crime can occur. 'This is more than just funding. It's a commitment to public safety and smart, targeted and responsive to needs on the ground. I'll just be honest, policing is expensive. Communities want well-staffed, well-trained and well-resourced departments and that costs money,' Shahin said. 'This investment allows us to do that on behalf of our officers, our city and our residents.' The Public Safety and Violence Prevention Fund, which was proposed for $75 million last legislative session with bipartisan support has since been increased to $115 million in order to dedicate $40 million to county sheriffs. The fund still has bipartisan support in the Republican-majority state House, but GOP leadership has raised concern that the Democratic-led state Senate won't take up the fund without trying to add other measures to it. The Government Operations Committee, which has three Republicans and two Democrats, passed the bills that create the fund, HB 4260 and 4261, out of committee unanimously Thursday, urging their colleagues in both chambers of the Legislature to work towards the common goal of safer communities. Funding public safety 'isn't about politics,' Harris said, 'it's about people.' 'It's about real families. It's about real neighborhoods, and it's about real law enforcement officers who need backup, and not just in the field, but here in Lansing from us.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
