Gainesville City Commission hears Gun Violence Prevention Alliance Strategic Plan, expresses concerns about school closures in East Gainesville
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the February 12 General Policy Committee meeting, the Gainesville City Commission heard the Gun Violence Prevention Alliance’s 5-year Strategic Plan and expressed concerns about proposed school closures in East Gainesville.
Success measures
Director of Community Health Initiatives Brandy Stone introduced the Strategic Plan presentation, created by Roslyn Rice and Renee Scott from the consultant firm DPI, and Gun Violence Intervention Program Manager Brittany Coleman listed the “success measures” or “themes” that arose during the consultants’ work to develop the Strategic Plan:
- Start early with our kids
- Help young men build strong futures
- Education and literacy as prevention
- Strengthen families and support parents
- Anger management and conflict resolution
- Data transparency and shared accountability
- Support youth coming home from detention
- Keep the work going
Coleman said starting early includes maternal healthcare and wrap-around services to families, in addition to early childhood education. The Plan emphasizes helping young men because, Coleman said, “As we look at the data, we know that young men between 16 and 24 tend to be the largest subset of folks who are most vulnerable to either victimization or being involved in gun violence,… but by no means is it exclusive.”
Coleman said, “Anger management can also be thought about as emotional regulation… Think about isolation, sadness, fear, confusion, and if there isn’t a framework or tools around how to manage those big emotions, it can lead to conflict… This is a learned skill, and, as such, it should be incorporated into… [the foundation of] the projects that we fund,… and not just something that supplements those initiatives.”
Coleman said, “Time and time again, folks say, ‘Well, what is being done? What is available? Where can I get my child signed up for these things? Where can I go for these different services?’ We know that as a community, there are a lot of things available, but how people have access to that information is where we identified a gap.”
Regarding supporting youth coming home from detention, Coleman said that includes “how we welcome young people and adults back into our community after incarceration, how we provide access to services, how we support the families and the neighborhoods that folks are coming back home to.”
Objectives of the Strategic Plan
Coleman listed the ten objectives of the Strategic Plan:
- Deepen and sustain gun violence reduction and firearm-related injuries.
- Institutionalize gun violence prevention across City and County systems.
- Establish a coordinated system of care for school-aged youth (K-12).
- Advance healing-centered systems and communities.
- Increase youth voice and leadership.
- Expand re-entry pathways and access to employment opportunities.
- Advance economic and geographic equity in resource distribution.
- Strengthen family stability and economic mobility supports.
- Enhance cross-sector collaboration and data transparency.
- Increase community capacity and long-term/multi-sector investments.
Coleman said the sixth objective (expanding re-entry pathways) is about “how we welcome community members back to our community… How do we expand and support workforce development, education opportunities, community support systems, and mental health?”
She said the seventh objective (advancing economic and geographic equity) is about “looking at the conditions and the environments in which folks live. This objective is about looking at some of the broader systemic issues, like housing, access to healthcare, child care, equitable resource distribution in neighborhoods.”
She said the eighth objective (strengthening family stability) is about “understanding that strong families are the foundation of safe and thriving communities, and this embraces the need to create stable, nurturing environments that families can create for their young people.”
Data transparency means “getting data out of silos and figuring out how to build a dashboard that brings data sharing, process management, and collective learning [together] and making sure that folks know how to access them.”
Coleman said the tenth objective (increasing community capacity) “focuses on how we strengthen our grassroots nonprofit organizations, how we help build capacity in their processes and their procedures and their initiatives… Increasing who is doing the work, not just City and County, is important.”
Click here to see the Gun Violence Prevention Alliance Strategic Plan presentation.
The plan will be presented to the County Commission on February 24 and will be discussed at the Joint City and County Commission meeting on March 9.
Mayor Ward: “If we’re letting [the media] lead the conversation on what is happening with gun violence, that doesn’t help our community, or components of our community, see the story and understand what is really happening.”
Mayor Harvey Ward said there are real questions surrounding the best way to communicate data about gun violence: “I think sharing the data out as quickly as possible to the community, whether it’s good or bad, is positive. If we allow everybody’s reality to be shaped by whatever story the news media tells us — and this is not a dig at the news media at all — but we’re always going to be feeling like we’ve done the wrong thing, because good news isn’t news. You know,… if people aren’t shooting guns, that is not news… If somebody gets shot, that’s a news story. So they’re doing what they’re supposed to do. But if we’re letting them lead the conversation on what is happening with gun violence, that doesn’t help our community, or components of our community, see the story and understand what is really happening.”
Ward continued, “Data is only useful if it’s good living and breathing data that points us in a direction, that helps us make good decisions, and it’s not just a spreadsheet that we can refer back to and read.”
In response to a question from Commissioner Bryan Eastman about next steps, Coleman said they want to hear from the City and County Commissions, rank the priorities of the objectives, and determine which stakeholders want to work on specific objectives.
Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker said she had hoped to see more information about implementation in the Strategic Plan. She was specifically concerned that the effort should “have a place to live” in local institutions: “And so I’m grateful that we eventually got to the place where ImpactGNV was created. How is the Alliance envisioning the growth of ImpactGNV? What does the future of ImpactGNV look like?… That’s something that I would expect to see in the Strategic Plan… It speaks directly to our ability to see this work be lived out well beyond the five-year mark. We know we’re in this for the long haul, and when you consider the volatility of City budgets, changing City Commissions, [that’s why I moved this forward — to create] a place that is dedicated to doing this work.”
Gun Violence Intervention Program Manager Coleman: “We really need and want our staff to be full-time. We want them to have access to benefits, and we want to grow additional roles that can help us be more present and visible in the community as we build sustainable referral opportunities between us and other organizations.”
Coleman said the Alliance wants to see part-time positions at ImpactGNV expanded to full-time positions, and they’re looking at federal grants “to help sustain that growth,” along with “philanthropic opportunities… We really need and want our staff to be full-time. We want them to have access to benefits, and we want to grow additional roles that can help us be more present and visible in the community as we build sustainable referral opportunities between us and other organizations.”
Commissioner Duncan-Walker: “I hope that as that staff grows,… that we’re doing that in a very conscious and very intentional way, and that members of the leadership team will expand to include African American men and individuals who represent the most impacted communities.”
Duncan-Walker responded, “I was thinking about the staff in ImpactGNV, as well, and how important representation is, and so I hope that as that staff grows,… that we’re doing that in a very conscious and very intentional way, and that members of the leadership team will expand to include African American men and individuals who represent the most impacted communities. That’s incredibly, incredibly important.” Duncan-Walker said she’d also like to see more involvement from the State Attorney’s Office and asked for representatives of the Violence Interrupters and the BOLD program to be present at the joint City/County meeting.
Commissioner Ed Book said that Objective 7 (advance economic and geographic equity) is “precisely what led to SWAG. It came from resource data that was very unique, stuff like pregnancy data, literacy, birth rates,… the data they use to help inform equity and resource distribution.” He suggested additional partners that could make “an incredibly strong grant application for something that fits into these objectives.” He also suggested a campaign to reach out to victims to tell their stories.
ARPA funding for the gun violence prevention effort is expiring
Interim City Manager Andrew Persons said the implementation strategies would be “an ongoing discussion with the Commission.” He said the funding for ImpactGNV is a “hodgepodge in the nicest sense of the word”: some of the funding comes from the General Fund (BOLD), the Children’s Trust of Alachua County (Violence Interrupters), and “some significant portion comes from ARPA… So that’s going to be a discussion that you’re all going to have during the budget season about — do we want to continue this?” He said his recommendation would be to continue, but they will need to figure out how to continue to fund it.
Commissioner Duncan-Walker on literacy: “If you can’t read, you can’t do anything, and when we understand the statistics that young African American students are staring down the barrel at — because that’s the equity issue — we’re looking at potential catastrophe amongst a certain group of students because of a lack of access.”
Duncan-Walker said she was glad that literacy was one of the success measures, and literacy “could very well, in my opinion, be taken on very similarly to the way that we’ve addressed gun violence, as a matter of public health. If you can’t read, you can’t do anything, and when we understand the statistics that young African American students are staring down the barrel at — because that’s the equity issue — we’re looking at potential catastrophe amongst a certain group of students because of a lack of access.”
Motion
Book made a motion to approve staff’s recommendation, which was to “authorize staff to continue planning and collaborative efforts toward implementation of the strategies outlined in the Plan and recommend that the Strategic Plan be discussed at the March 9 Joint City and County Commission meeting to approve its implementation.” Duncan-Walker seconded the motion, and the motion passed 5-0, with Commissioners Cynthia Chestnut and James Ingle absent.
Concerns about proposed school closures
Several Commissioners had indicated during the Strategic Plan discussion that they wanted to discuss the School Board’s rezoning maps, so that discussion was held during Member Comment.
Commissioner Casey Willits described the School Board’s February 6 joint meeting with elected officials, which he attended on behalf of the City of Gainesville. He said he was concerned that the school district plans to close Rawlings Elementary because “the County put in millions of affordable housing dollars into Sweetwater Square, right across the way,… [partially because that was ] affordable housing, right next to a school.” He said the “big pieces” the City would be interested in are the closures of Rawlings and Foster Elementary Schools and Duval Early Learning Center. He said one of the reasons for closing Foster was that it’s on a main thoroughfare, but “Terwilliger is on – it’s two lanes now… I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s up with that?’ because Terwilliger is on a two-lane that will undoubtedly become a four-lane.” At the meeting, staff told Willits that student drop-off will be on the other side of the school, away from the busy road.
Ward and Duncan-Walker support asking the School Board to delay its decision
Ward said he was interested in inviting the School Board to make a presentation directly to the City Commission about the changes “and also — I understand this is a heavy lift — but asking them as well to postpone a little bit their final decision… because this is a big deal.” The School Board plans to vote on the maps on March 12, to be ready for Fall 2026.
Ward said that the City of Gainesville and Alachua County “have invested very heavily… in East Gainesville, and removing multiple elementary schools really kind of…” He broke off and then continued, “And I may just not understand; I may need a better understanding of how this helps everybody… I think there are probably some things that they have not considered.”
Commissioner Duncan-Walker: “[Closing schools would] have a substantial impact on the psyche of the individuals who live in the communities — already used to disinvestment, already not trusting local government to do what we say.”
Duncan-Walker said the changes “up-end” the City’s investments into East Gainesville: “What we all clearly understand is that we can’t begin to dream of economic development if any of the schools are flailing or simply not there. What young family do you know who wants to move to an area where there either is not a school or where that school is insufficient?” She said the school closings would “have a substantial impact on the psyche of the individuals who live in the communities — already used to disinvestment, already not trusting local government to do what we say.” She said, however, that she sympathized with the School Board’s need to make “very difficult decisions” with limited resources.
Duncan-Walker also noted that the school closings will make East Gainesville less walkable. She said the City Commission wants “to chart a pathway forward to assist, because at the end of the day, our goal is the same, and it is to improve the quality of life for all our neighbors.”
Commissioner Duncan-Walker: “I’m shaking in my boots at the idea that some young people who already need a little more encouragement to go to school — just the idea that a school won’t be there will make them less inclined to go to school at all.”
Referring to the gun violence discussion they’d just had, she said, “We know that access to quality education is a root cause of [gun violence]. So I’m shaking in my boots at the idea that any more schools could close, particularly in East Gainesville, where it is already a hot spot. I’m shaking in my boots at the idea that some young people who already need a little more encouragement to go to school — just the idea that a school won’t be there will make them less inclined to go to school at all.” She agreed that the City should ask the School Board to delay the decision.
Commissioner Ed Book said he would be “very reluctant for us, as a government body, to tell them, ‘Delay your timeline.'” He encouraged the City Manager to send the Commission’s concerns to the Superintendent. Ward said it would only be “a polite request” to delay.
Commissioner Bryan Eastman: “Just because you’re in a crisis you have to respond to, doesn’t mean that every response is a good response, right?”
Eastman was also sympathetic to the school district’s limited resources, but “just because you’re in a crisis you have to respond to, doesn’t mean that every response is a good response, right?” He said he had wanted to “let the process play out,… but obviously, this matters a lot.”
Effects of eliminating property taxes for homesteaded properties
Eastman referred to the County’s recent presentation on the effects of eliminating property taxes for homesteaded properties and said he would like to see something similar for the City. Persons said he thought it was “a little bit premature” at this point, but his staff would provide an analysis “once we have a better picture of which… proposals are going to have legs.”
I see a lot of blame and a lot of excuses for East Gainesville’s plight and struggles with gun violence. Unfortunately, leadership and many others think it’s someone else’s fault, and like many other politicians, there aren’t many of them offering babysitting and other employment opportunities to recently released criminals.
Even Coleman made mention that “this is a learned skill” when referring to the emotions that lead to conflict. Is that what the woman who was recently arrested taught the juvenile who chased down the other youth and started beating one until she caught up and put a gun to his head?
With regard to schools, wasn’t the City going to shut down some RTS routes since they weren’t going to serve the public good or be profitable? Seems the SBAC has discovered what many companies have—their ROI isn’t quite working out too well for the organization.
Until people are willing to acknowledge and take actions to correct the problems before them, things will never change.
I think if we would stop all the new expenditures and the endless consulting and pulled the east side community into a framework of progress, then we might get some tangible progress. This “initiative” is like a broken record. Talking points that are endlessly spun with no action plan except to spend more money on vague and too broad proposals. Stop repeating the habit of stacking programs that duplicate other resources like you’re doing something new. I am glad that folks at city hall are finally understanding that ARPA has run out. The answer is not to fund more city departments to duplicate programs and procedures in play. It’s like groundhog day at city hall, same as it ever was, over and over. You also might want to stay out of the ACSB decisions until you know how to better do your own jobs.
I would just say “go to church” but not with a preacher who makes woke excuses.
I wonder how much this study cost? And of course there will be follow ups. Let’s start with the family. The government can’t fix it. Even though it broke it by providing alternatives like housing and financial assistance. No father needed. Education the idea you can be whatever you want. Sorry, very few exceptions. But, help young children find something they enjoy and possibly make a living at. Not everyone can be a rapper or professional athlete. My question to the folks who did this study, would be why don’t we see issues like violence in the Asian or Indian communities. And not every Asian family has money but they know through hard work they can achieve their goals.
Young folks (13-18) cannot exhibit the family skills needed when they’ve never had two parents in the same home.
Children learn from their environment. Parents, aunts & uncles, teachers the list goes on.
When the family role model is absent, the ‘streets’ become their model. And we have seen how well this works out.
Juvenile gang violence, pregnant teens, school dropouts, one or both teen parents in jail.
Folks will be miffed by these statements. The truth can be painful. Until the family unit is restored and both parents contribute to child rearing under the same roof, nothing is going to change.
Before LBJ and welfare in exchange for trusting in the husband/father, black men were present in the homes, the children were well behaved, everyone for the most part was married, and places like Black Wall Street existed.
You are correct Brad, the problem is our women need to reject the feminism that came along with the welfare, and the men need to take back control of all things related to their community and families.
As usual, not one word about consequences for stealing. carrying, or using a gun by this 16-24 group of young people.
How about some real education while incarcerated that has a real incentive to learn? (Like an earned reduction of sentence) ?Not the woke stuff, but what they need to work a job beyond minimum wage. How to live in society. How to be not ‘entitled’?
Start early with our kids
Help young men build strong futures
Education and literacy as prevention
Strengthen families and support parents
Anger management and conflict resolution
Data transparency and shared accountability
Support youth coming home from detention
Keep the work going
Same theme year after year. Nothing changes except insert a new word or catchy phrases.
Deepen and sustain gun violence reduction and firearm-related injuries.
Institutionalize gun violence prevention across City and County systems.
Establish a coordinated system of care for school-aged youth (K-12).
Advance healing-centered systems and communities.
Increase youth voice and leadership.
Expand re-entry pathways and access to employment opportunities.
Advance economic and geographic equity in resource distribution.
Strengthen family stability and economic mobility supports.
Enhance cross-sector collaboration and data transparency.
Increase community capacity and long-term/multi-sector investments
Same thing here. Blame everyone else for the problems of East Gainesville.
Unfortunely the majority of the offenders in this county are multi time offenders with some given 5th and 10th chance to redeem themselves only to fail again. Its not a lack of gun control. Human emotion, and the babying culture is the cause of violence to continue. Crime persists in Alachua County because of the lack of hard punishment for crimes and treating criminals like they lost their candy. The communities continue to allow drug dealers to reside in their neighborhoods and just look the other way as if it’s accepted.
The “communities” should band together and hire a “Pale Rider” or some other mysterious stranger to clean things up. If that doesn’t work maybe there’s a “Magnificent Seven” out there somewhere that’d be willing to help.
Just thinking…
What a load of crap! Discipline starts at home. Spare the rod – spoil the child! Send the trouble-makers to boot camp (first time). Chain gang for 2nd offense. Life in prison after that!
If they are going to hand out funds and energy in an attempt to help young black people it would be much better spent by partnering with black churches with roots in the community instead of creating/expanding a new city department and contracting with an out of town small business consultant under the guise of a public health epidemic due to guns. To me it looks like the city will continue on its path of over proselytizing, over hiring, and over contracting/consulting instead of actually using those funds to better the people they claim to care about. All they do is pay for studies and planning sessions and community outreach while accomplishing nothing besides spending money while waxing poetically. A political noose
Don’t think any more consulting money should be spent on this.
Ai can come up with a better plan quicker.
See below
Absolutely — here’s a real, operational implementation plan for Gainesville, built from:
– The strategic‑plan gaps identified on your active tab
– Fresh web data on Gainesville’s gun‑violence patterns and initiatives (IMPACT GNV, GPD/ACSO task force, hotspot activity)
– General crime‑mapping patterns for Gainesville neighborhoods (non‑specific but useful for geographic targeting)
This is written in the field‑manual, operational style you prefer — concrete, sequenced, and defensible.
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Gainesville Gun‑Violence Reduction Implementation Plan (12‑Month + 3‑Year)
A practical, agency‑assignable, budget‑aware operational plan
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I. Mission Focus
Reduce shootings and firearm‑related injuries in Gainesville by targeting the small number of individuals, networks, and places driving the majority of harm.
This plan converts the city/county’s strategic themes into actionable programs with timelines, staffing, and measurable outputs.
—
II. Priority Problem Areas (Based on Available Data)
1. High‑risk individuals & networks
GPD and ACSO have already identified individuals through their joint task force focused on illegal guns and repeat violent offenders.
2. Geographic micro‑hotspots
Crime‑mapping shows persistent clusters around:
– University Ave corridor
– East Gainesville neighborhoods
– High‑density multifamily complexes
– Commercial corridors with repeat assaults/thefts
These are consistent with general Gainesville crime‑map patterns.
3. Community‑identified needs
IMPACT GNV’s engagement highlights unmet needs around youth support, family stability, and re‑entry.
—
III. Core Implementation Components
Below is a fully operationalized version of what the strategic plan should have included.
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1. Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Unit
Purpose: Direct engagement with individuals at highest risk of shooting or being shot.
Staffing
– 1 Program Director (City)
– 6 Credible Messengers (contracted through trusted CBOs)
– 1 Data/Case Manager
12‑Month Actions
– Build referral list from GPD/ACSO task force intelligence and hospital data.
– Conduct daily outreach in micro‑hotspots.
– Mediate conflicts within 24 hours of identification.
– Launch hospital‑based intervention at UF Health Trauma Center.
Metrics
– # of high‑risk individuals enrolled
– # of mediations
– % of participants with no new violent charges
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2. Group Violence Intervention (GVI)
Purpose: Focused deterrence for groups driving shootings.
Lead Agencies
– GPD + ACSO + State Attorney’s Office
– Community partners for support services
12‑Month Actions
– Identify active groups and networks using task‑force intelligence.
– Conduct call‑ins and custom notifications.
– Offer immediate service pathways (employment, housing, mental health).
– Enforce swift, certain consequences for group‑related shootings.
Metrics
– Reduction in group‑related shootings
– Participation in service pathways
—
3. Youth Opportunity & Prevention Pipeline
Purpose: Reduce risk among youth ages 12–24, especially in East Gainesville.
Staffing
– 1 Youth Opportunity Coordinator
– 3 Outreach Navigators
– Contracted mentors
12‑Month Actions
– Expand after‑school programming in East Gainesville (align with IMPACT GNV).
– Launch summer employment program (100 slots).
– Create literacy and tutoring partnerships with schools.
– Deploy navigators to hotspots after school hours.
Metrics
– Attendance and retention
– School engagement indicators
– Youth employment numbers
—
4. Re‑Entry & Transitional Employment
Purpose: Stabilize individuals returning from incarceration.
Staffing
– 1 Re‑Entry Coordinator
– 2 Case Managers
– 1 Employment Specialist
12‑Month Actions
– Create a 90‑day transitional employment program (public works, parks, waste).
– Partner with local employers for long‑term placement.
– Provide housing stabilization funds for 30–50 individuals.
Metrics
– Employment at 90 and 180 days
– Housing stability
– Recidivism reduction
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5. Environmental Crime Prevention
Purpose: Reduce opportunity for violence in micro‑hotspots.
12‑Month Actions
– Lighting upgrades in 10 hotspot blocks.
– Convert 3–5 vacant lots into community spaces.
– Install CPTED improvements at multifamily complexes.
– Increase code enforcement presence in chronic‑nuisance properties.
Metrics
– Environmental improvements completed
– Calls for service in treated areas
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6. Data, Evaluation & Transparency
Purpose: Build trust and guide resource allocation.
12‑Month Actions
– Launch a public dashboard showing shootings, trends, and program metrics.
– Create a unified data‑sharing agreement between City, County, GPD, ACSO, UF Health, and schools.
– Conduct quarterly hotspot analysis to reassign resources.
Metrics
– Dashboard uptime and usage
– Quarterly reports completed
– Adjustments made based on data
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IV. Governance & Accountability
Steering Committee
– City Manager (Co‑Chair)
– County Manager (Co‑Chair)
– GPD Chief
– ACSO Sheriff
– State Attorney’s Office rep
– UF Health Trauma rep
– Community representatives
Operational Cadence
– Weekly program‑director huddles
– Monthly interagency meetings
– Quarterly public reports
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V. Budget Framework (Year 1)
Approximate, based on comparable CVI/GVI programs nationwide.
| Component | Cost Estimate |
|———-|—————|
| CVI Unit | $1.2M |
| GVI | $650k |
| Youth Pipeline | $900k |
| Re‑Entry | $750k |
| Environmental Improvements | $600k |
| Data & Evaluation | $300k |
| Total (Year 1) | $4.4M |
Funding Sources:
– City/County general funds
– Federal grants (DOJ CVIPI, Byrne JAG, Re‑Entry grants)
– Philanthropy (local foundations, national CVI funders)
– ARPA replacement funds (if available)
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VI. 12‑Month Timeline (Sequenced)
Quarter 1
– Hire directors and coordinators
– Finalize data‑sharing agreements
– Identify high‑risk individuals and groups
– Begin environmental assessments
Quarter 2
– Launch CVI outreach
– Begin GVI custom notifications
– Start youth after‑school expansion
– Begin transitional employment program
Quarter 3
– Launch hospital‑based intervention
– Complete first round of lighting upgrades
– Publish first public dashboard
Quarter 4
– Evaluate program performance
– Adjust hotspot deployments
– Expand youth summer employment
– Prepare Year‑2 budget and grant applications
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VII. 3‑Year Outcomes
– 20–40% reduction in shootings (consistent with CVI/GVI cities)
– Increased youth employment and school engagement
– Reduced recidivism among re‑entry participants
– Improved community trust and data transparency
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If you want, I can now produce:
– A PDF‑ready government‑style implementation plan
– A one‑page elected‑official brief
– A field‑manual version with decision trees and intake logic
– A Gantt chart or organizational chart
Just tell me which format you want next.
There was a lot of words in the list of what needs to be done to reduce gun violence, but just about everything listed is a social program that does not need to be managed and funded by the government! The part of local government that CAN control gun violence is law enforcement. Strict and proactive enforcement of any and all laws in the areas where the violence is taking place is the best plan. Law enforcement needs to target (yes, target) known offenders and put them in jail. The State Attorney’s Office and local judges need to KEEP them in jail. Let private entities manage the social programs while government does its primary job – PUBLIC SAFETY!