Cities United tours Kankakee, offers youth stipends and grants as part of violence-prevention push

Cities United representatives told the Kankakee City Public Safety Committee on July that they are bringing national resources and expertise to support local violence-prevention efforts.

"We pay attention to not just what law enforcement is doing, but also prevention and intervention and creating ecosystems that allow us to identify, engage, and support those who are most at risk of being impacted by community violence," said Anthony Smith of Cities United, who described a multi-day visit that includes local youth sessions, training and a written set of recommendations the group will deliver to the mayor.

Why it matters: Cities United said it brought direct resources to the local effort: 15 young people from Kankakee who participated in sessions will receive $500 gift cards each, and Cities United will administer $40,000 in grants to local community-based organizations over the next months. The delegation also outlined program models that require expanded outreach staff and sustained funding to be effective.

Smith and presenter staff described a programmatic approach that pairs "relentless engagement" with concrete supports and life plans. He cited Advanced Peace, a model used elsewhere, which combines daily contact from outreach workers with individualized life plans that include stipends or rewards for meeting agreed goals. "If you meet certain goals of your life plan, then you also get a stipend," Smith said.

Sarah Bentley, an evaluation consultant with Vividus Labs traveling with Cities United, said her role is to track Cities United's influence and impact and to report back on outcomes.

During committee discussion Mayor Curtis and Mr. Smith discussed potential scale and costs for a local expansion of prevention programming. Smith said his team had modeled a full expansion at about $900,000 per year and that a smaller, phased figure of roughly $500,000 is also under consideration. Smith and committee members emphasized the investment could reduce longer-term costs to policing and corrections by preventing violence and supporting at-risk families.

The delegation said it will return a written report of recommendations to the mayor and other local leaders and invited continued partnership to scale prevention and intervention work.

Provenance: The presentation and details on stipends, grants and budgetary ranges come from the Cities United remarks beginning at 00:29:14 (Anthony Smith) and supporting remarks and Q&A through 00:42:08. The evaluator introduction is from 00:33:41 (Sarah Bentley).