A new effort launched in late 2024 to try to curb gun violence in Akron is already producing results, according to officials.
The city has partnered with local nonprofit Minority Behavioral Health Group to launch the Akron Street Team Pilot Program.
So-called “credible messengers” — people who are well-known in the community that may have a past of violence and crime — have now been trained to help others try to peacefully resolve conflicts, said Pastor Jeff Dennis, CEO of Minority Behavioral Health Group.
“When the credible messengers are there and engage in conversation, I think there could be discussions that would take place about the different ways to handle something, and peaceful ways,” Dennis said.
The group has hired and trained two full-time and several part-time credible messengers in de-escalation techniques, he added.
The program has already made an impact, Dennis said, because educating the messengers in trauma and mental health has been transformational for them.
“These men believe that this is what they’re on the planet to do now,” Dennis said. “It’s their calling, it’s their purpose, it’s what God wants them to do. And so, they are really into this, really serious.”
The messengers have also been trained in mediation and mentorship, said Tony Ingram, the city’s public safety strategist. The city has also partnered with The Rehoboth Project, a national nonprofit focused on community violence intervention, for the training, he said.
“We're working together around developing and creating the framework of the program,” Ingram said.
The pilot program has been in the works for some time, Ingram added, and was officially introduced by Mayor Shammas Malik last year. City Council approved funding for the program and the partnership with Minority Behavioral Health Group in October 2024.
The city is now working to find research partners to collect data to measure the program’s impact.
“The goal, again, at the end of this is to say, ‘Yes this works, so that we can expand even further,’” Ingram said. “That’s my big next step task, is to find those research partners to help us be able to do that qualitative and quantitative work.”
Officials will find ways to evaluate the effectiveness of the program throughout the 18-month pilot period, he added. They’re hoping to see a 10% reduction in violent incidents by 2026, Ingram said.
Similar initiatives are already taking place in other U.S. cities including Detroit and Kansas City.
