New initiative by city, county, police, charity aims to reduce Fort Worth teen gun violence
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United Way and local governments plan to provide millions of dollars in funding to community organizations working to combat youth gun violence in Fort Worth, organizers said at a Wednesday webinar for the One Second Collaborative, which is kicking off this summer.
The new initiative plans to bring together the scattered grassroots organizations across different Fort Worth communities for a more concerted effort in lowering the rates of gun violence in the city. The program is being run by United Way with support from Fort Worth city and police officials and Tarrant County.
Regina Williams, a member of the project’s steering committee, said the work of reducing youth gun violence in Fort Worth isn’t something that can be done by police alone.
“This is work for everyone,” she said. “This is community work.”
Roger Foggle, coordinator of the program’s youth advisory board, said the teens they will be trying to reach through the program will also help in promoting its efforts. They’ll be tasked with educating the public on youth gun violence as well as taking an active role in crime policy development, providing peer support and developing leadership skills.
He wants to impart an attitude of “nothing about me without me” to the youth the One Second Collaborative hopes to reach, he told those who attended the webinar.
United Way is preparing to provide more than $2.15 million on the first round of investments into community organizations working to lower the rate of gun crimes among young people. The names of those organizations haven’t been released yet, but Williams said it is important to remember that it’s just the first phase of the project.
So far, One Second Collaborative has received 29 applications for funding totaling $9.4 million.
Williams and Fort Worth Assistant City Manager Fernando Costa both said the program won’t take effect overnight. It will take support from police and local government and, more importantly, from members of the community.
United Way is expected to announce soon how members of the community can get involved with One Second Collaborative and work in their communities.