Mayor’s office outlines credible messenger hires and $2 million DOJ CVI grant application
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Summary
The mayor’s office described a credible messengers program that will add a coordinator and 4–5 stipend-supported community members, and staff said the city has applied for a $2 million Department of Justice Community Violence Intervention (CVI) grant modeled on a 360 approach.
The Common Council received a briefing on the mayor’s office’s community violence prevention efforts, including plans to hire a coordinator and four to five credible messengers on stipend to work in neighborhoods and a notice that the city is applying for a $2 million Department of Justice Community Violence Intervention and Prevention (CVI) grant.
Latif Johnson Kinsey, director of the mayor’s office against gun violence, described an ambassadors program that draws on faith leaders and neighborhood leaders to form a faith-leaders coalition and to recruit credible messengers “that probably live in the community, have been living there for some time.” He said those individuals will lead small listening groups, help mediate conflicts and connect residents to services; the coordinator would manage the program day-to-day.
Janet Burke, director of research, told councilors the grant application would fund a Syracuse 360 model with a research partner (the Finn Institute), a facilitation partner (the Gifford Foundation), a project coordinator and vehicle support for outreach, and funds to support SPD details when officers conduct targeted activities. She said the CVI application is currently an application and that if the city receives the award it would return to council with details and a spending plan. Burke said the proposed grant amount for the application is $2,000,000.
Councilors asked how many credible messengers would be hired with current funding; Latif said the plan is to hire a coordinator and 4–5 stipend-supported credible messengers and that the messengers would typically receive a modest monthly stipend rather than full-time pay.
Separately, the mayor’s office noted an existing extension of Salvation Army services for Family Functional Therapy (FFT) under the DOJ program; staff said services paused previously will resume and DOJ has approved continuation for now. No formal funding decision was recorded in the tentative session; staff said they will return with details if the DOJ award is made.
