Residents and service providers urge council to target violence-prevention dollars and expand transitional housing

Dozens of residents used the public-comment period at the City of Racine Common Council meeting on May 6 to press elected officials to rethink local violence-prevention funding and to request support for community housing services.

Several speakers said they had recently reviewed proposals for violence-prevention grants and believe some awards do not meet local needs. "I went over all of the proposals," Stanley Mezi said, and said he felt the groups recommended for funding did not "fit the criteria." Dejuan (Dwan) Bostic said programs that bring youth outside and offer positive activities can prevent violence and argued the Backyard Grama project would benefit children across demographics.

Other speakers described personal experience with violence and the need for local services. Anthony Boney, a local chaplain and longtime missionary, said he sees "a lot of violence here, a lot of sadness, a lot of hurt," and offered to help make Racine safer. Bruce Carter, who described long experience mentoring young people, urged the council to fund programs that build hope for at-risk youth.

Nonprofit leaders also addressed the council. Lakeisha Davis, founder and executive director of Loving Kindness Transitional Services Inc., described the organization's work providing shared transitional housing, case management, employment and transportation connections, and reentry assistance since opening a transition home in Racine in 2022. "We're a small organization with a big vision to see a scene where second chances are real," Davis said, and she asked the council for help expanding housing capacity and reentry services.

Several public commenters also said they had only recently learned about Violence Prevention Program grant opportunities and asked the city to improve outreach to residents and to re-evaluate proposals in light of direct community input. "I didn't see one proposal out of all those grants I looked at that are directly addressing preventing violence," Yousef Buckley said, adding that economic development and violence prevention should be considered together.

Speakers who focused on specific neighborhood concerns also urged the council to consider local impacts when approving liquor licenses and large-capacity venues in Uptown Racine, arguing past late-night establishments had caused disturbances and slowed neighborhood recovery.

The public-comment period lasted roughly 45 minutes; no formal council action was taken during the public-comment segment. Several speakers asked staff and council members to re-open or re-review grant decisions and to consider conditional city support for community housing and prevention programs.