Kalamazoo County is a community where every adult and every child thrives and is safe from community violence.
We must prevent shootings and interrupt retaliation before it happens. Effective prevention and intervention require shared data and strategic application of resources, which can only be achieved by strengthening relationships between law enforcement and priority communities.
We must create accessible and sustainable paths to economic strength. Poverty, unemployment and gun violence are positively correlated, and all of these factors are more prevalent in communities of color. To accomplish this, we must increase access to economic opportunities for those who have experienced historical wealth and income marginalization.
Inequitable access to healthcare and essential social services magnifies the trauma experienced by those touched by violence. By ensuring culturally relevant mental health care for survivors and perpetrators, we can support healing that prevents future violence.
Focusing resources on improving physical and social infrastructure creates more spaces for connection and strengthens networks between these neighborhoods and public services. To reduce community-wide violence, we must concentrate efforts on those neighborhoods most impacted.
Access to child care, support for parents and engaging opportunities for youth creates healthy families, neighborhoods and communities. Proactive interventions, instead of punitive reactions, promote healthy youth engagement and development. Investing in youth and families lays the groundwork for a safer future.
A safer community can only be realized through collaboration. Coalescing community members, public institutions, private organizations, schools, churches and neighborhoods is how we access the full scope of our knowledge. Combining efforts where redundancies exist and building new relationships based on shared understanding protects the resources and energy necessary to effect change.
Inspired by the work and initiative of community leaders Gwendolyn Hooker and Tami Rey, in 2021 both the City and County of Kalamazoo declared gun violence a public health crisis. Between 2018 and 2020, shooting incidents in Kalamazoo more than doubled, and numbers of shooting victims nearly tripled. Youth-involved shootings have risen steadily since 2020, and gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children and teens in Michigan.
Moved by Milwaukee’s recent progress in reducing gun violence, Jen Heymoss, Kalamazoo Blueprint for Peace project lead and chief facilitator, saw an opportunity to convene disparate local efforts around a shared vision. Milwaukee’s model, Blueprint for Peace, takes a public-health approach to gun violence reduction, complementing traditional criminal justice strategies by recognizing social determinants of health as drivers of gun violence.
Included in the report are actionable steps such as investing in priority neighborhoods, meaningfully serving those who experience the racial and economic marginalizations that put them at greater risk of perpetrating or becoming victims of violence, and uniting groups who are already doing this urgent work. Kalamazoo has funding and assets available that, strategically applied, can expand to meet these needs.
We must build a Kalamazoo where everyone can experience safety and freedom. With evidence-informed practice and full community engagement, we can create achievable solutions based on the assets we already hold. In the words of Reggie Moore, Kalamazoo Blueprint for Peace lead advisor, and creator of the Milwaukee Blueprint for Peace, “Every system, every role, every organization and institution – everybody has a role to play.”
Visit blueprintforpeace.org for updated reports.
Racial healing is at the heart of racial equity. Racial healing is about:
Without racial healing and building trust, changes in policies or practices are short-lived. Through healing and relationship-building, we can collectively develop new values that affect our everyday decisions in areas of policy making, hiring, education and housing – to name just a few.
Racial healing is at the heart of racial equity. Racial healing is about:
Without racial healing and building trust, changes in policies or practices are short-lived. Through healing and relationship-building, we can collectively develop new values that affect our everyday decisions in areas of policy making, hiring, education and housing – to name just a few.
Racial healing refers to the process of addressing and repairing the harm caused by racial injustice, discrimination, and systemic oppression.
It involves acknowledging historical and present-day injustices, fostering understanding and empathy across racial divides, and promoting reconciliation, healing, and solidarity among individuals and communities.
Racial healing recognizes the deep-seated trauma and intergenerational impact of racism on individuals, families, and society as a whole, and seeks to create spaces for healing, dialogue, and transformative change.
It encompasses personal, interpersonal, and systemic dimensions, and involves both individual reflection and collective action to address the root causes of racial inequity and promote equity, justice, and belonging for all.
Racial healing is a proactive and ongoing process that requires commitment, compassion, and collaboration from individuals, communities, institutions, and society at large.
