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News from Campaign for a Safer Michigan

July 7, 2022

Contact: Sam Inglot, sam@progressmichigan.org

Campaign for a Safer Michigan Applauds Whitmer Administration Investment in Gun Violence Prevention

Continued investment will be crucial to making a safer state

MICHIGAN – Before Michigan legislators left for the long July 4th weekend, the Michigan state budget was finalized and passed, and it included important provisions to curb gun violence across Michigan. In the state budget for fiscal year 22-23, $4.5 million in American Rescue Plan dollars will be appropriated to support community policing and engagement strategies including $3 million for the GIVE Model Pilot Program in Flint, $1 million for the Bridge the Gap initiative in Saginaw, and a $500,000 investment in community violence intervention led by FORCE Detroit. The budget also includes funding for gun violence research related to reducing school-connected violence. While there are states that have allocated public dollars to conduct gun violence research, Michigan is the first to do so under a Democratic Governor and Republican legislature. 

“For years, the people working day and night to prevent violence have not been paid properly,” said Alia Harvey-Quinn, executive director of FORCE Detroit. “These peacemakers have had to choose between the mission-based, lifesaving work of peacemaking and feeding their families. That is not sustainable. These public dollars are a good start, but we have a long way to go before we have access to the kind of budget that will allow us to build a freer, safer Detroit.”

Community violence intervention programs like FORCE Detroit’s utilize the intimate relationship that community organizations have with the folks that live around them to identify precursors to violence and step in to address them before there is a tragic act of gun violence. 

“It is promising to see these investments focused on preventing gun violence in our communities, especially community violence intervention efforts which we know bring folks closer to the communities that care about them,” said Myaia Holmes, gun violence prevention campaign manager at Progress Michigan. “We look forward to sustained, consistent investment in community violence intervention efforts and other key policy changes, including the establishment of an Office of Neighborhood Safety and a community safety advisory council.”

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