Portsmouth United program highlights expansion, shifts funding toward intervention

Shantel Matthews, Portsmouth’s safer communities program manager, told the Crime and Gun Violence Prevention Commission on March 2 that Portsmouth United — the city’s branded office of violence prevention — reached more than 10,000 participants across 23 community partners in 2025 and will pivot funding in 2026 toward intervention and crisis stabilization.

“We had over 10,000 participants, and we served Portsmouth citizens ages 4 to 60,” Matthews said, summarizing last year’s reach. She described Portsmouth United as “really becoming a labor of love,” and said the program will increase support for survivor healing, violence‑interruption pilots and targeted intervention work.

The program manager said state “Safer Communities” funding initially supported a larger startup appropriation; Matthews reported the program spent about $2,450,000 last cycle and did not fully spend the roughly $2.92 million allocation, but that the city expects higher spenddown now that programs are operational. She told commissioners the mini‑grant approach changed for 2026: instead of 50% upfront payments, grants will be 100% reimbursement to align with state documentation requirements.

Matthews outlined existing and planned initiatives: Pivot for Peace — the violence‑intervention team — is operating in pilot sites including Southside, Dale’s Home, London Oaks and parts of Prentice Park and is being considered for expansion to Brandon Square and Hamilton Place contingent on funding. Crisis stabilization will grow to include immediate response and survivor‑healing groups; the program manager said about $64,000 went to crisis stabilization in the last cycle and the city anticipates roughly doubling that amount this year.

Other programs include Safe Summer youth employment (36 youth employed in lawn‑care work), Peace Week (more than 20 programs with zero youth‑involved incidents reported during the week in 2025), a mural and youth‑arts initiative, and Project 180, a reentry support pilot for people on probation. Matthews also said a Portsmouth United mobile app is live at portsmouthbuzz.com.

During questions, commissioners asked about school partnerships, ties to domestic‑violence shelters and whether Peace Week produced measurable crime reductions. Matthews said staff reviewed seasonal crime data but cautioned the city cannot conclusively attribute year‑to‑year changes to a single program. She said the program will emphasize collaboration among applicants so funding supports coordinated coalitions rather than duplicative single‑organization projects.

The presentation concluded with commissioners praising the program’s outreach and the chair thanking Matthews for her work. Commissioners directed staff to continue implementation and to bring updates as pilot expansions and funding decisions evolve.