Just one week after the City of Rochester released evidence of an upsurge in homicide deaths in 2013, Action for a Better Community announces $281,000 in state grant funding will help them prevent gun violence in the Northeast of Rochester.
The approach, developed in 1995, employs "Violence Interrupters" who know the unique disputes in each community. These people monitor what's happening on the streets and step in to prevent violence.
Director of the Center for Public Safety Initiatives at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Professor John Klofas says the program is a complement others already in place.
"This is a different focus on this outreach and the nature of the violence, but it adds to the volume of those programs, that repertoire of programs that really seek to engage people on the street."
Naimah Sierra, Deputy Director of ABC, says it comes at the right time.
"We're losing a lot of young people. We feel this is a good approach-- this sort of multi-pronged approach-- that works in partnership with the city, the police department, with public officials, residents, youth to really deal and address this issue."
Northeast Rochester is one of 10 neighborhoods where this program is being established. It is based on the "Cure Violence" program created in Chicago and use to prevent violence in cities around the world.