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Family Guidance Center will lead new Montgomery County community violence intervention program; city and county funding cited
Summary
Family Guidance Center told the Montgomery County Commission it will house a 14-person community violence intervention program at 2742 Central Parkway, hire a program director and begin training with national consultants; commissioners were told the initiative is funded jointly by city and county sources for two years.
Family Guidance Center will serve as the grantee for Montgomery County’s newly awarded Community Violence Intervention (CVI) program and has begun hiring staff and securing office space, agency leaders told the County Commission during an information session.
“We're super excited about it. We know that, violence is in every corner of our city, and it's gonna take all of us, you know, in order for us to change, to make change,” Yolanda Adams, executive director of Family Guidance Center, told commissioners.
Jim Christiansen, assistant executive director of Family Guidance Center, said the program has secured offices at 2742 Central Parkway and plans to staff 14 positions. “This will house 14 staff members. We've started the process of hiring a program director. The first 5 candidates have been selected for interviews,” Christiansen said, adding that a multi-agency committee will select the director.
Christiansen outlined program roles the commission can expect: three coordinators supervising street-level interrupters who will carry caseloads in neighborhoods, hospital responders to address shootings and possible retaliation, and a data specialist/office manager to guide operations. He said training by the external partner Live Free will begin once hires are complete and estimated the program could be fully operational by May.
Eddie Compton, representing the City of Montgomery, described Live Free as an experienced national partner and told the commission the initiative is part of a larger city-county investment. “Live Free is a national organization. Right now, our consultants are doctor Sidio Antonio Sidio and reverend, Marcus McAllister,” Compton said. He added: “It's 3.4 total, 1.7 from the county, and 1.7 from the city.”
Compton also said the county’s ARPA funding for the initiative is for two years and City staff are pursuing additional grant and state funding to sustain the program afterwards. Commissioners asked about site selection and neighborhood outreach; Christiansen said the Central Parkway office sits near Family Guidance Center and that the program plans to operate through community hubs, churches and other local sites so staff can work in neighborhoods rather than only from a central office.
No formal vote or contract action for the CVI program was recorded in the portion of the transcript provided to the commission during the information session.
The commission acknowledged the presentation and offered continued support and oversight as hiring and implementation proceed.
