6 Detroit groups chosen as ShotStoppers to reduce gun violence

Detroit ― Mayor Mike Duggan on Wednesday announced six community-based organizations have been selected through a competitive bid process to conduct community violence intervention through a new program dubbed ShotStoppers, which financially rewards neighborhood groups for reducing violence.

That number of groups is more than the three to five the city originally intended to include in the ShotStoppers initiative, which is not to be confused with ShotSpotter, Detroit's ariel gunfire detection system implemented as a police initiative across the city. Both programs are designed to help reduce gun violence in Detroit.

Of 25 city organizations that submitted proposals, Duggan said six were strong enough that he is asking Detroit City Council to expand the original scope of the $10 million community violence intervention (CVI) initiative.

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 proposed a specific approach based on their experience, expertise and knowledge of the local community.

Of the six chosen groups, Force Detroit, Detroit 300, Detroit People's Community and New Era Community Connection will be serving the city's west side while Wayne Metro/Denby Neighborhood Alliance/Camp Restore and Detroit Friends and Family will be serving the east side.

Some groups requested more programming while others requested relocation budgets for families with issues, Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison said.

Each contractor will receive a quarterly base budget of $175,000 to execute their prevention strategy.  In any quarter the contractor’s violence reduction efforts are 10% more successful 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%, they will receive an additional $175,000, the city said.

The program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, pandemic relief funds. Contracts will go before City Council Tuesday and if approved, the groups can begin working July 1.

"We sat down with the activists here in the neighborhoods and try something different," Duggan said. "Instead of your normal government where we tell you what the plan is and pay you to do it, we are supporting their plan. We've taken the highest violence areas in the city and have people who said 'I know this area and I can make a difference.' We are overspending the budget and we needed to so hopefully council will support it."

Duggan announced the ShotStoppers initiative during his tenth State of the City address in March.

The community groups will have one month to ramp up their programs before the City begins measuring their performance on August 1.

"Every quarter they do better, they get more money to spend their plans further. It is so variable... Those who are doing well will expand and those who aren't can adopt strategies from successful ones," Duggan said. "Each one of them is deeply plugged in and they know what's driving the anger and the shootings. If there is anyone that can change course, it's these six groups."

City Council President Mary Sheffield said she is proud to see an innovation that addresses underlying social issues, the first she's seen in the last nine years.

"We've come a long way but we have more work to do to end the senseless violence we continue to see," Sheffield said. "We have to address the social issues that breed gun violence. We are not allowing governments to do this now, but community members with street credibility that know the unique needs of these areas... We have to use all the tools in our toolbox. This includes police, and technologies they need and today, we are investing in our people, a tool that has been underutilized."

Applications opened in March. Each organization proposed a specific strategy and tactics that they would employ. This includes street outreach, violence interruption, connecting at-risk individuals with wrap-around services, and addressing community conditions that contribute to violence. Applicants had to demonstrate a detailed feasible strategy to reduce violence in their zone and prior experience and organization capacity to implement it effectively.

Eric Ford, of Detroit 300, said when his mother was murdered when he was 17 years old, he promised her "I couldn't save you but I promise to save others from this violence."

Denby Neighborhood Alliance organizer Sandra Turner-Handy said representing this task in 48205, the most crime-ridden ZIP code of the city, carries a weight to notable success.

"We have been called the Blood, the Red Zone, everything you can think of but now we can make an impact throughout the city and focus on safety," Turner-Handy said. "Our babies are going to grow up in a city that they know cares about them. We are going to change the narrative. When people talk about Detroit, they are going to talk about the world-class city we truly are."

Detroit Police Chief James White said in large part, policing is a reaction, but this is a positive test of interrupting the normalcy of senseless violence. He added that the majority of 911 emergency calls stem from anger that erupts into a shootout. The analyst will be reviewing year-over-year statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine success rates.

"We have no excuse. We have funding, a supportive mayor, city council, and a community ready to do the work. We have the opportunity to be great," White said.

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_