HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — Tampa City Council is set to discuss a new grant coming to the city that aims to curb community violence.
Called the "Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, the 1.5 million dollar grant is coming from the Department of Justice.
The money will allow the Tampa Police Department and its partners to examine violence in the city more closely, with the goal of reducing crime.
TPD is partnering with Safe and Sound Hillsborough on the initiative, a nonprofit violence prevention group.
CEO Freddy Barton said TPD is the lead on this, but Safe and Sound will get $750,000.
“It’s going to take a deeper look at serving those kids who are deeper in the City of Tampa. Those kids who are getting arrested or charged with these gun crimes, or those who are at risk,” Barton said.
He said the money coming to Safe and Sound will allow them to hire two additional case managers. They will work directly with children facing gun charges or those at risk.
They will also dedicate a chunk of money to neighborhood stabilization and provide therapy and programming support. Barton said he hopes this provides long term solutions to preventing violence in Tampa.
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