Macon Magazine

54 maconmagazine.com | DECEMBER 2023/JANUARY 2024 STORY BY CLARENCE W. THOMAS, JR. | PHOTOS BY DSTO MOORE AND CHRIS FLOORE F ollowing a repeat annual rise of murders in Macon-Bibb County in recent years, Dr. Dominique Johnson said something had to be done to disrupt future deaths. Now Johnson, pastor at Kingdom Life and founder of The Urban CEO, Inc., and six other concerned citizens are doing their part to combat violence. They began violence interruption and community improvement by creating a local chapter of an international organization, Cure Violence. Macon's chapter is headquartered in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood. Cure Violence Global Launched in West Garfield Park, one of the most violent communities in Chicago at the time, Cure Violence has evolved into a global initiative since it was founded by Dr. Gary Slutkin, former head of the World Health Organization's Intervention Development Unit. The program reduced shootings by 67% in its first year of working in West Garfield. Taking a public health approach to gun violence, Cure Violence disrupts the transmission of violence through these four core activities: detection and interruption of potentially lethal events, intervention with highest-risk persons, changing group and community behavior and norms, and data monitoring, according to their website and training material. They employ Violence Interrupters, individuals who utilize their strong, peer-to-peer or mentorship connections in the community to address ongoing disputes between active gang members. Violence Interrupters detect potential shooting events like the release of a gang member from prison, anniversaries of deaths or births of key gang members, or club gatherings. They also keep track of territorial disputes, interpersonal and gang conflicts, and major arrests that leave power vacuums, which all may need lethal gun violence prevention. Community members, local police, high-risk individuals involved in conflicts, and hospital emergency rooms are the main sources of Violence Interrupters' information. Since they are able to receive timely information from local resources and have boots on the ground in their own communities, they are able to prevent bloodshed. Cure Violence Macon Cure Violence Macon members are those boots on the ground in Pleasant Hill and, eventually, other neighborhoods in need, said Johnson. "The way we operate builds a deeper level of trust. It shows that we really care. If you show yourself friendly to the neighborhood, the neighborhood will show itself friendly to you," he added. Using the proven techniques of the Cure Violence Global model, Cure Violence Macon's goals are stopping violence, reducing recidivism, increasing employability, and collaborating with the community. This includes detecting and interrupting potentially violent conflicts, identifying and changing the behavior of high-risk people, and mobilizing the community to change norms. Cre dible Messengers Johnson, Cure Violence Macon's program manager through One World Link, is joined by notable names familiar in boardrooms, the streets, and places in between. They include Frank Dixon, Community Engagement Manager; L.J. Malone, Site Supervisor; Outreach Workers Courtney Ates and Erion Smith; and Violence Interrupters Jerry Anderson and Sherman Kind. Dixon is the bridge between residents and the resources. He has cra ed collaborations with the likes of Peacekeepers, Healing of Afflictions, MMS Management Group, and Macon Mental Health Matters as a means of providing relief in the way of affordable food, clothing, and shelter. That translates into easing burdens and lessening the potential for conflict within and outside of families, insisted Dixon, who stated that being able to do this work is his life's dream. "What we're doing is not new. Violence is a public health crisis, so changing norms is essential. This model works and is bound by data that can prove it," he said. Many conflicts begin because people are in crisis, said Dixon. But if that barrier is removed, there's a chance to alter how they respond. That's why Cure Violence uses every legal and moral means to make a difference, including what Dixon described as under-the- radar resources like street-level activists and organizations. "It's hard to hear someone when you're in a crisis. But if we can make life more bearable for those in need, then we can help them to help themselves." Courtney Ates handles the organization's caseloads. Her job is to make those in need of the organization's help functional members of society. "I just try to help make sure their basic needs are met. If their needs aren't met, then it's hard to get their attention," Ates said. Overseeing the day-to-day operations of Cure Violence is Malone's job. He weaves between work at the house the organization occupies in Pleasant Hill and on the front lines along with Anderson and Sherman as a Violence Interrupter – an essential component to the group's success. Reflective listening and getting as much advice from those with Community outreach group curing violence one neighb orho o d at a time

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