Numerous non-profits across the city of Syracuse will receive a share of $1 million to put together localized programs aimed at keeping young adults away from gang violence. Common councilors approved the use of federal pandemic relief funds Monday for the Syracuse Safer Streets Program. Public Safety Committee Chair Chol Majok says the paid internships are a variation on a previous plan that offered stipends to gang members.
“We wanted to make sure that as participants come into the program, by the time they leave, they have something tangible to put into their resume so that when they go out and seek employment in the community that somebody had actually given them a chance.”
Those receiving funding include OG’s Against Gun Violence, the Salvation Army, Project HEAL, and the Northside Learning Center. Each program will identify 50 at-risk youth to track and solve gang conflicts, provide positive role models, and guide them through court, school, training, and employment services. Majok says this builds on what many of the organizations already provide.
“They are grassroot organizations, Majok said. "They are very in touch with the community and the neighborhood. We wanted to make sure that this part of work complements whatever they are doing.”
Councilors also gave the green light to apply for state and federal grant applications to sustain the programs in future years. But Councilor Pat Hogan says his long experience in city government tells him these interventions won’t work. He voted no.
“It’s predicated on the hopeful thinking that young men, 18 years old and up, enmeshed in gang life will be able to, with the inducement of a few dollars in the erstwhile application of occasional therapy and counseling, realize the errors of their ways.”
Hogan says he’d rather see the money go toward the police department to address the flow of guns to the community. In a statement, Mayor Ben Walsh praised councilors for approving programs that seek to address the violent dynamics that revolve around personal disputes and feuds between gangs, and give vulnerable young people a way out of conflict.
