AKRON, Ohio — A little more than 24 hours after a shooting involving two teenagers in Akron, city leaders are expanding a violence prevention program they hope can stop future shootings before they happen.
The City of Akron is tripling its investment in the Street Team program, which sends trained "credible messengers" into neighborhoods to build relationships with young people, de-escalate conflicts, and connect residents with resources before violence occurs.
For the past year and a half, the pilot program has operated with one full-time and one part-time credible messenger. The team has focused on walking targeted neighborhoods, meeting residents face-to-face, and intervening in conflicts before they escalate.
City leaders say early results from the pilot have been encouraging. According to data shared by the city, neighborhoods where Street Team members were actively working saw a nearly 60% reduction in shooting victimizations and a 30% decrease in felonious assaults.
"You take folks who have some background in the criminal justice system and they're able to bring a lot of credibility having gone through that, having turned their lives around, to speak to our young people and really help them understand what the pathway, if they're on a risky pathway, where that might lead and also where there might be an opportunity to turn away," Akron Mayor Shammas Malik said.
The credible messengers, sometimes referred to as "curbside counselors," are trained and employed through Minority Behavioral Health Group. They use their lived experiences to connect with people who may be at risk of becoming involved in violence.
With the Akron City Council approving $600,000 in funding over the next year, the program will expand from two credible messengers to four, allowing the Street Team to serve more neighborhoods across the city.
City officials say Marcel McDaniel, who helped launch the initiative as Akron's first credible messenger, will lead the expanded team as it grows its outreach efforts citywide.
The expansion comes as Akron continues searching for ways to reduce gun violence through prevention and community-based intervention.
“We each have responsibility, parents have responsibility, our young people have responsibility not to engage in dangerous behaviors. So we’re going to continue to do this is kind of an all of the above, whole of the community, approach to preventing violence and increasing safety," said Malik.
