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Miami's Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative

Award Information

Award #
15PBJA-22-GG-04846-CVIP
Funding Category
Competitive Discretionary
Location
Awardee County
Miami Dade
Congressional District
Status
Open
Funding First Awarded
2022
Total funding (to date)
$2,000,000

Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2022, $2,000,000)

Circular patterns of poverty, crime, violence, and educational failures in urban communities across America and designated zones in Miami Dade that have been plagued by crime, poverty and poor education have seen in most cases; no long-term investment in proven sustainable initiatives that cover all areas of community development.

From 2016 to 2020, Miami experienced a 13% increase in homicides from the 2019 year prior and a 45% increase from 2016. In 2020, there was an epidemic level of shooting incidents in Miami and surrounding areas, which rose to 659, with gun homicides rising to 96. There needs to be effective community-driven programming to intercede on this epidemic of gun violence. The Circle of Brotherhood (COB) will utilize this grant opportunity to build the framework for long-term sustainability and change. The community violence work has become a collaborative effort through community input and researcher evaluation. The City will partner this application with Dr. Tisa McGhee, a research partner that has worked with the COB on community programming since 2013, and will apply through the NIJ solicitation. The COB will utilize this grant to build and expand current CVI programs. The grant is the perfect solution to enhance and expand the programming and organization capacity of the COB and partner organizations from the Healing and Justice Coalition. 

The COB, Dream defenders, Dade County Street Response, Beyond the Bars and Dream Defenders  has engaged in technical assistance from Aqeela Sherrills and the Newark Community Street Team (NCST) current White House CVI Initiative. CVI Partners recently went to Newark, NJ as part of the White House CVI to learn from NCST, employing credible messenger programs to address violence through a functional and preventive approach. The CVI team will liaise with prevention and intervention programs to provide boots-on-the-ground outreach. 

The COB is applying for 1A (pg. 10) and 1B (pg. 13) priorities to build equity, capacity, and programming in underserved neighborhoods of Miami and CVI partners. All of the funding to COB suffice priority funding requirements. We intend to meet these priority requirements through mentoring and case management modeling, and community interventionists to engage community members at risk of becoming either victims or perpetrators of violence. 

Circular patterns of poverty, crime, violence, and educational failures in urban communities across America and designated zones in Miami Dade that have been plagued by crime, poverty and poor education have seen in most cases; no long-term investment in proven sustainable initiatives that cover all areas of community development.

From 2016 to 2020, Miami experienced a 13% increase in homicides from the 2019 year prior and a 45% increase from 2016. In 2020, there was an epidemic level of shooting incidents in Miami and surrounding areas, which rose to 659, with gun homicides rising to 96. There needs to be effective community-driven programming to intercede on this epidemic of gun violence. The Circle of Brotherhood (COB) will utilize this grant opportunity to build the framework for long-term sustainability and change.  

The COB is applying for 1A (pg. 10) and 1B (pg. 13) priorities to build equity, capacity, and programming in underserved neighborhoods of Miami and CVI partners. All of the funding to COB suffice priority funding requirements. We intend to meet these priority requirements through mentoring and case management modeling, and community interventionists to engage community members at risk of becoming either victims or perpetrators of violence.

Date Created: September 29, 2022