The historic La Villa community in Jacksonville, Florida, is a distressed neighborhood and the target location for the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) project. Once referred to as the "Harlem of the South," La Villa was part of a vibrant art, music, and silent movie community that supported multiple hotels, theaters, and restaurants. At the center of the area is Edward Waters College, Florida's oldest historically Black college, which is a source of pride and a pathway out of the cycle of poverty and crime. In the 1960s, the construction of I-95 divided La Villa, splintering the neighborhood. Civil unrest forced many long-time residents to relocate and decentralized community assets. In subsequent decades, generational poverty, neighborhood blight, and drug epidemics have devastated this section of town.

The unemployment rate in La Villa is 11.8 percent, which is almost double that of the rest of Jacksonville (6.8 percent). One out of five adults do not have high school diplomas. Over 42 percent of households in the neighborhood live below the poverty level, and the median household income is 54 percent lower than the average household income in Jacksonville. Lack of comprehensive public and private resource coordination inhibits economic development and neighborhood improvement. BCJI stakeholders recognize that revitalizing the area requires a comprehensive, collaborative, and data-driven community response to identified crime drivers.

BCJI funding enhanced the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's (JSO) activities in the old La Villa neighborhood. With this grant, the City of Jacksonville (COJ) honed crime reduction strategies and data-driven approaches to strengthen the community's capacity and effectively link people in need to cost-effective, holistic, comprehensive, and wraparound services. The cross-sector team, assisted by the research partner, regularly reviewed data, assessed progress, and adjusted strategies where appropriate to achieve objectives under the following overarching goals:

• Goal 1: Reduce violent crime in the target area.
• Goal 2: Increase mutual trust between residents of the target area and the local government.
• Goal 3: Improve safety factors in the target area.

During the Planning Phase of the project, the site's stakeholder group was divided into subcommittees. Each subcommittee was responsible for specific implementation strategies, which are outlined below:

• The Public Safety and Social Justice Subcommittee: This subcommittee will establish a Violence Reduction Center within the target area to assist with resource distribution and connection to services; conduct a Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) assessment of business, residences, and public spaces; distribute and install surveillance cameras; host Hot Seal and Expungement Fairs; and establish relationships between the police department and the community.
• The Education and Economic Opportunity Subcommittee: This subcommittee will relicense justice-involved residents to provide entrepreneurial opportunities; provide scholarships for degrees through Florida State College of Jacksonville; and sponsor free training sessions to obtain commercial driver’s license training.
• The Neighborhood Investment (Housing and Community Development) Subcommittee: This subcommittee will assist in preserving estate-owned property; implement a historic home improvement program; implement an improvement program to reduce blight; assist food truck owners in setting up brick and mortar storefronts; and host neighborhood beautification programs.
• The Resident Integration and Community Outreach Subcommittee: This subcommittee will host monthly impact days; conduct community surveys; hold campaigns to inform residents of their rights; host a mobile summer camp for youth; and support non-profit grant identification, writing, and implementation.
• The Community Health Subcommittee: This subcommittee will increase resident use of the community garden; partner with grocers to provide fresh produce supply; increase immunizations of residents; and increase mental health services for residents.
• The Neighborhood Maintenance - Quality of Life Subcommittee: This subcommittee will remove blight; support the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville; hold neighborhood clean-up events; and hold street and park restoration projects. 

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, Northwest Jax Community Development Corporation, New Town Success Zone, faith-based organizations, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Justice and Security Strategies, Inc.