Strong community response to ShotStoppers Community Violence reduction plan lets City expand strategy to 6 areas

2023
  • Mayor expected three strong proposals when announcing new strategy in March, but six of 25 received were impressive enough to send to City Council for contract approval 
  • Each group will serve a defined geographic area, with the ability to earn performance grants up to $700K based on success reducing violence
  • Innovative crime reduction strategy funded by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act
  • Mayor’s goal is to have groups begin work by July 1st  

 

DETROIT – 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 twice what the Mayor says he originally expected, but proposals came in so strong he has decided 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. If approved, each group will receive a base budget of $700,000 to execute their strategy, with the ability to earn performance grants up to an additional $700,000, to sustain and expand their work, if they successfully reduce homicides and shootings.

The program, which is the first of its kind in the nation, is being fully funded by President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act. The ultimate cost of the program will be determined by each group’s success reducing violence in their area and the performance-based grants they receive as a result. Duggan said that doubling the number of ShotStoppers areas would increase the cost of the program beyond the original $10 million allocated, but he is prepared to request supplemental funding approval from City Council, if needed, for the second year of the initiative.  

The groups selected through the procurement process are:

 

  1. Detroit Peoples Community
  2. Detroit 300
  3. New Era Community Connection
  4. Force Detroit
  5. Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, Denby Neighborhood Alliance, and Camp Restore
  6. 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.

The Mayor said his administration will submit these contracts to City Council later this week for review, 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.

The initial contract term will run from July 1, 2023 through July 31, 2024. The City will evaluate the program’s impacts during the first year, and if the results are promising, will seek to extend the program further.

Highly-competitive selection process

The City selected these six community organizations from a pool of 25 applicants who responded to the Notice of Funding Availability released in March, reflecting the overwhelming interest in the program.

To apply, each organization proposed a specific CVI Zone and the strategy and tactics that they would employ there. Applicants could select from a broad range of CVI tactics, including street outreach, violence interruption, connecting at-risk individuals with wraparound services, and addressing community conditions that contribute to violence, or propose new tactics as well. Applicants had to demonstrate a detailed, feasible strategy to reduce violence in their Zone, as well as the prior experience and organizational capacity to implement it effectively.

The application also required demonstrating the ability to appropriately manage a significant grant award of federal funds and maintain the highest standards for financial management and compliance with federal and city rules. Each of the six selected organizations has partnered with a fiduciary organization with extensive experience managing federal funds to support grant management and provide technical assistance.

Following the City’s procurement procedures, the City first formed an application evaluation committee and each member of the committee independently read and graded all of the applications. Organizations with the highest scores based on their written application were invited to interview with the City, where they elaborated on their past work, their proposal for ShotStoppers, and how they would approach common violence interruption scenarios. The evaluation committee then selected the final six organizations through consensus, based on their written application and interview contents.

For more information about the ShotStoppers program, please contact the Program Administrator, Michael “Mike” Peterson, II at [email protected].