With funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, LISC helps community-based nonprofits strengthen their organizations and improve their ability to implement safety initiatives in the context of comprehensive community revitalization.
FY2020 Grantees
Selma Center for Nonviolence, Truth & Reconciliation - Selma, Alabama
The SCNTR’s programming includes: the Violence Intervention Program centered on preventing violence through street outreach on the ground in the community; holistic, wrap-around case management and victim services including mental health services; employment training and placement; alternative economic options and education through the Local Farm Cooperative; trainings in racial equity, nonviolent conflict reconciliation, and restorative justice; and its Beloved Community Block Clubs, which connect people across generations while offering trainings in civic engagement and identifying opportunities for improvement and advocacy in each neighborhood. LISC is supporting a navigator position for the SCNTR’s Beloved Community Block Clubs. The navigator will be responsible for community outreach and engagement a series of trainings and will organize a series of trainings in racial equity, restorative justice, nonviolence, citizenship, and other community safety-related topics.
Neighborhood Engagement HUB - Flint, Michigan
The Neighborhood Engagement Hub (NEH) provides a catalyst for positive neighborhood change by supporting neighborhoods to become safe, healthy, and whole. The NEH supports several Flint, MI neighborhoods by engaging in activities such as blight elimination, community economic development, placemaking, public policy, public safety, and training & technical assistance. LISC is supporting a full-time Community Safety Project Manager, who will be responsible for organizing strategy-specific trainings such as CPTED, convening project stakeholders, and holding special community events. This role will increase the capacity of the organization to support both the City of Flint and neighborhood-based partners in the execution of a variety of community safety-related projects.
Oakland Trybe, Inc. – Oakland, California
Trybe was established in 2007 to bring people together by providing meaningful opportunities to build and serve their community. The organization serves low-income families, children, youth, young adults, seniors, formerly incarcerated people, and people impacted by violence, primarily from East Oakland neighborhoods. Trybe partners with the City of Oakland on Community Violence Intervention and Prevention program efforts, including the Ambassador Program, launched in 2020 to address a rise in violent crime, including a 30% increase in homicides. The Ambassador program is a diverse team representing African-American, Vietnamese, and Hispanic backgrounds that provides a safe presence at local parks, schools, and small businesses, intercepting violent incidents and deterring violent activity through presence and connections. LISC supports Trybe’s efforts to build community capacity to effectively address and reduce community violence through strategies including deployment of Violence Interrupters and Neighborhood Ambassadors to engage those most likely to be perpetrators and/or victims of violent crime.
Partnership for a Safer Cleveland - Cleveland, Ohio
The Partnership for a Safer Cleveland is a longtime partner of the City of Cleveland, dedicated to working toward a safer city for all Cleveland residents. The Partnership works to identify the root causes of crime and violence issues and the underlying community service gaps, and devise fast-track collaborative solutions to solve them before it’s too late. The Partnership is a key convenor and local intermediary for neighborhood-based community safety support in the city. Historically, its work has focused on a small number of neighborhoods where disproportionate levels of violent crime have occurred (primarily impacting low-income residents of color), the result of decades of disinvestment and disinterest. The organization provides an array of services to the City of Cleveland and its departments, connecting city and county agencies that can help in its mission, assisting in conference planning, facilitating group discussions around crime and violence issues, and providing training and education resources to the community. LISC is helping the Partnership build its internal capacity with support for its programmatic work, board governance, policies and procedures, and high-quality financial management practices. The resulting capacity growth will ideally position the Partnership to secure additional funding streams that will boost organizational stability.