City of Detroit renews ShotStopper contracts after data shows violence decreased
(CBS DETROIT) — Last year, six groups were commissioned to reduce violence in Detroit. Now, the organizations have their contracts renewed and can continue their efforts.
According to a data overview report released by the city, of the six organizations, Force Detroit and New Era had the most significant impact in their respective communities.
"It means a lot. It means our staff will be employed, it means we'll be able to do what we need to do for our community, intervene and interrupt acts of violence," said Dujuan "Zoe" Kennedy with Force Detroit.
Kennedy said he is grateful the group is being recognized for their efforts and believes their approach is impactful.
"We have a lived experience to be able to relate," Kennedy said.
In addition to monitoring social media, Kennedy said Force Detroit engages the community to ease tensions long before any potential violence occurs.
"The barrier that is there for government and law enforcement is a barrier that's not necessarily there for us. We have that advantage. It's no slight to government or law enforcement, We just don't have the history of... like we just don't have clean up what's happened in the past. So we're more trusted," Kennedy said.
On Wednesday, at Force Detroit headquarters, the group held a regular brainstorming session and discussed ways to improve their process, reach more people, and prevent more violence. At the center of the discussion was taking a proactive preventative approach to conflict resolution.
"By the time it gets to a violent encounter there's a few things happen, and I think a lot of people, we don't address that like no one just wakes up and says I'm about to go make a life-changing decision for myself and someone else, no one wakes up like that, that's a process," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said that preventing violence must begin with conversations and interventions early on in the conflict. Moving forward, he said Force Detroit is focusing on sharing what works with other groups in hopes of strengthening ties across the city.
"What that looks like is, we exchange community details because what goes on in our community could be something spilling over from another community, so we're in constant communication with groups across the city," Kennedy said.