Providence to direct up to $1.6 million to violence prevention programs

In light of Providence’s rise in gun violence, Mayor Jorge Elorza is seeking to use American Rescue Plan dollars to establish citywide nonviolence training and youth mentorship programs.

The city recently opened requests for proposals for both initiatives, planning to allocate up to $500,000 in federal funds for training and up to $1.1 million for mentorship. Each program would last for about one year, concluding in November 2022.

In an interview this month with The Providence Journal, Elorza said the idea began taking shape in the wake of violence on Carolina Avenue in May, when nine people were injured in what has been described as the city’s largest shooting.

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“I reached out to some community leaders, sort of on the front line of things, and I asked them to put me in contact with families, mothers who had lost children, people who were either on parole or on probation, but were trying to turn their life around, and other folks who are on the front lines of living and working with these issues,” Elorza recalled. 

After several conversations, Elorza said it became clear that the city was in need of added opportunities for youth.

In Providence, as in other cities, the extent to which the pandemic may have helped to elevate the level of violent crime remains a point of speculation. Recreational centers saw temporary closures. Straw buyers purchased bundles of firearms during the pandemic then sold them off, allowing them to potentially fall into the wrong hands. Economic insecurity and mental-health challenges — two factors the mayor identified — may have also contributed.

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“All through the country there’s been an uptick in gun violence, and I think that no one has put their finger on exactly what the causal factors have been, but there does generally seem to be a higher level of anger that exists in society,” Elorza said. “We seem to be at each other’s throats on TV, on social media, and now in person more than existed before COVID.”

A quick look at Providence’s crime stats confirm aggression has erupted on the city’s streets. This year alone, 20 homicides have occurred. The five-year average for this point in the year is 11. 

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As the city attempts to cope, continuing its search for bidders on programs to ease tensions and scale back conflict, one potential candidate to create large-scale nonviolence training is the Nonviolence Institute, which has for two decades responded to violent crime and attempted to prevent retaliation. 

The Institute would not comment on whether it would seek to win funding for the citywide program, which would be geared toward those aged 15 to 24, but Elorza said he hopes the organization will apply.

“They’ve been at this work for over 20 years and they have a track record and an expertise that I think will be very valuable for what we want to accomplish,” the mayor said. “With that said, I certainly expect applications from other folks that have been doing this for a while as well. But I do hope that the Nonviolence Institute submits a proposal, and we’ll review it and evaluate it just as we do all the others.”

The Institute has already broadened its outreach to police officers, training Central Falls’ department over the summer. Elorza said he believes that such training could be developed for his citywide program, too.

As for the mentorship initiative, Elorza said the city is looking for organizations with the basic capacity to administer such a project, and the ability to connect with young people in need.

According to application documents, the program would help youth cultivate social and cognitive skills, and “stay on the path to high school graduation, college success, and productive adulthood.”

“In particular, we’re looking for organizations that can reach kids that are sort of most at risk, and many of these kids that are on the verge of veering off track and stand to gain the most from a caring adult that’s able to keep them on the right path,” the mayor said.

The application window for the nonviolence training program closes Tuesday. The city will continue accepting applications for the mentorship program until Oct. 25.