City Council
Anchor organizations named to “Stop the Violence.”
A change this year to the Stop the Violence Fund created anchor organizations, one per police zone. Now, council has approved the first five, with agreements totaling about $2.6 million over three years. A city official said they'll support smaller groups and teach families to handle conflict. However, no suitable proposal came in for Zone 1, so that request will reopen.
Written by Amy Whipple
Council approved the first five anchor organizations for the Stop the Violence Fund.
Solomon Armstead, a supervisor in the Office of Community Services and Violence Prevention, said at the Dec. 22 committee meeting with council that community anchors will support smaller organizations that also receive money from the Stop the Violence Fund. The organizations will, among other things, work to prevent violence by teaching families and children how to effectively deal with conflict. The larger organizations will also get the word out about programs and provide administrative tasks like data collection.
A change to the fund earlier this year instituted anchor organizations, one for each police zone. The agreements total $2,628,710 with each group’s funding split across three years.
The first cohort of anchors includes:
- Neighborhood Resilience Project (Zone 2), $376,562
- A Giving Heart (Zone 3), $585,683
- Center of Life (Zone 4), $638,466
- Trade Institute of Pittsburgh (Zone 5), $600,000
- Helping Ourselves Produce Excellence for Tomorrow, Inc. (Zone 6), $428,000
Fifteen organizations responded to the request for proposals. According to the fiscal impact statement for the legislation, however, the city did not receive a “suitable” proposal for Zone 1. Armstead said they will reopen the request for that zone.
David Jones, the assistant director of public safety said the work of the organizations will allow the city to expand its Safe Passage Program into some of the public elementary schools. There, they can connect with both students and their families. “We know that’s where things kind of start,” he said.
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