The COVID 19 pandemic has had long lasting effects, including psychological distress and economic strain. It has led to a spike in the number of mental health cases due to anxiety and stress levels, reduced access to support services, and caused a disruption in community programs and services. Due to these effects, underserved communities have experienced “significantly greater increase in firearm violence, homicides and assaults compared to more affluent, white neighborhoods” as reported by the Violence Prevention Research Program at UC Davis. The study found that firearm violence increased by 29.3%, homicide by 27.7%, and assault by 4% in 2020. “We estimated that, in 2020, on average, there were approximately 14 more incidents of firearm violence in the least-privileged zip codes compared to the most privileged zip codes, and almost 150 more aggravated assaults and five more homicides.” The National Commission on Covid 19 and Criminal Justice summarized that in response to the increasing violence rates, “pursuing crime-control strategies of proven effectiveness will be essential to achieving reductions in violent crimes”.
https://counciloncj.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Pandemic_Social_Unrest_and_Crime_in_US_Cities_-_March_2021_Update.pdf
https://health.ucdavis.edu/news/headlines/violence-increased-most-in-marginalized-neighborhoods-early-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/2021/12
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7264607/
To help address this concern the City of Grand Rapids seeks a qualified person, organization, or firm to develop and implement Community-Centered Violence Reduction Strategies focused on neighborhoods in the Third Ward. The goal of the initiative is to support creative, evidence-based strategies that will realize measurable impacts on rates and incidents of actual violence with a focus on diversion and avoidance. This could include:
- Partnering with existing community organizations to identify specific neighborhood needs around crime reduction and access to resources, and how these needs can be addressed.
- Creating or strengthening programs that foster empowerment and connectivity among neighbors and neighborhood organizations to reduce incidents of violence.
- Training community members and neighborhood organizations about violence reduction strategies and implementation.
- Providing intervention or diversion programs for those most at-risk of committing violence.
- Partnering with existing initiatives or social services to provide connection to resources, organizations that can provide basic needs, or services that can minimize the likelihood of police or CPS intervention.
This list is for exemplary purposes only. The City will consider any evidence-based proposal or proposals that can achieve the overall goal of violence reduction in the Third Ward.
Download a copy of the full Request for Proposal document(DOCX, 49KB)
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