What Will Mayoral Candidates Do to Preserve and Expand ShotStoppers?

When you treat violent crime as a public health crisis rather that a problem you can arrest your way out of, you can make communities safer. That’s what Detroit and other cities around the country are learning through community violence intervention (CVI) programs like ShotStoppers.

Started in 2023 with $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, ShotStoppers has focused on the six neighborhoods in Detroit with the highest violent crime rates. Community groups in these neighborhoods fight gun violence, especially among youth, through a combination of youth mentorship, job training, drug prevention, blight removal, and promoting access to resources. So far, their efforts have produced impressive results.

Now, as ARPA funding is running out, and a new federal administration is cutting funding for programs that prioritize prevention over punishment, the future of ShotStoppers is at risk.

Both mayoral candidates have supported CVI programs in general terms. But they need to address the loss of federal funding for these successful initiatives in more specific terms. How will they continue to fund and even expand these crime-fighting programs? That’s a question residents deserve clear answers to between now and November 4.

Dejuan “Zoe” Kennedy, executive director of FORCE Detroit, is concerned that cutting resources will set back progress in combating violence in Detroit. Image courtesy of Cydni Elledge/Outlier Media