Lexington will give grant money to nonprofits working to reduce gun violence
In an effort to address local gun violence, Lexington announced Tuesday it would provide grants to nonprofit organizations focused on reducing gun violence through a new city program.
Mayor Linda Gorton and ONE Lexington Director Devine Carama unveiled the city’s new ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Grant Program in a press conference Tuesday. The program will provide grants up to $7,000 to nonprofit organizations helping prevent gun violence in Lexington. This is the first year for the grants. Gorton said $150,000 will be put into the budget for the program this year, which is being provided in partnership with the Community Action Council with the approval of the Urban County Council.
Carama said in a press conference Tuesday that the grant program was “putting resources directly into the hands of organizations that are already doing work.”
“We have a lot of great organizations and individuals right here in Lexington, grassroots, pounding the pavement each and every day doing the work that they need to be amplified,” Carama said.
The program’s goal is to provide money to nonprofit violence prevention programs, directly help Lexington youth who have been affected by gun violence and give stipends to volunteer street outreach workers, Gorton said. The program will also provide mini grants to be distributed through schools.
The announcement of the grants comes toward the end of a year in which Lexington has faced issues with violent crime. The city has tied its annual homicide record set last year at 37, the most recent deadly incident being Sept. 25. Thirty-one of this year’s homicide victims have died from shootings.
There have also been 104 non-fatal shootings in Lexington this year, according to Lexington police. At this point last year there were 107 non-fatal shootings.
Despite an increased amount of gun violence, violent crime among younger Lexington residents — ages 13 to 29 — has dropped. This year there have been 10 gun-related homicides involving victims aged 13 to 29, which is half as many as there were one year ago. That figure is also two less than the five-year average, according to data from Carama.
City officials have touted a 50% reduction in homicides involving victims aged 13 to 29 this year compared to last year as an indication that ONE Lexington’s work is starting to show. Officials said the grant program will make it easier for these violence intervention efforts to continue.
“Government’s job isn’t to reinvent the wheel, but to remove barriers and support grassroots people and organizations that are already involved in doing the work of violence prevention,” Gorton said.
The program will seek to relocate surviving victims of gun violence if necessary, Carama said. The aftermath of shootings can leave victims with lots of stress and anxiety, and relocation can help reduce the effects.
“We’ve seen survivors lose their job because of that depression,” Carama said. “We’ve seen them pickup some habits because of that grieving process so how can we help them to navigate that?”
Grant applications will be available soon
Organizations seeking to apply for the program will need to be a 501(c)(3), the city said. Help will be provided to organizations that need to apply for a 501(c)(3) so they can apply for the grants program next year.
Carama said the application for the grants will be made available soon once the application is finalized.
Grant given to city will help with victim, re-entry services
In addition to the program, Gorton also announced that the city will be receiving a $30,000 grant from Cities United, a national nonprofit organization that works with approximately 130 other cities helping them reduce gun violence. The money will be used to address gun violence victims services and re-entry services from jail.
“This is a pivotal moment,” Gorton said. “Other entities now are telling us, ‘we want to partner with you. We want to give you some funds to do this work.’”
Lexington has been a partner with Cities United since 2014. They helped the city come up with a three-year plan to effectively use the grant, and that plan will be released in a couple of weeks, said Gorton.
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 1:47 PM.
