Since 2010, cyclical and retaliatory firearm violence has impacted Ingham County and Lansing residents. Trauma experienced by victims, witnesses, and family members can have a prolonged impact on educational and employment opportunities. There are multiple contributing factors to the level of violence in the city, including a dramatic increase in available firearms, social media arguments and feuds that evolve into violent incidents, felony convictions and court orders requiring shooters to remain in city boundaries, elevated levels of poverty and economic inequality, a lack of educational opportunities and correspondingly high levels of unemployment.  

Young African American men in Lansing are disproportionately affected by violence, both as victims and perpetrators. Local law enforcement has encountered challenges in implementing effective interventions to address the cycle of gun violence, and there is a strained relationship between the community and law enforcement stemming from historical issues.  

The target neighborhood for the Peacemaker Fellowship is the southwest district of Lansing, in the South Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. corridor. The target population for this program is individuals ages 10 to 24 identified as the perpetrators of gun violence. Local partners estimate that 85-90 percent of those enrolled will be Black/African American, 5-10 percent will be Hispanic, and 5-10 percent will be from other race groups. The poverty rate in the City of Lansing and the neighborhood of focus is 27 percent (US Census, American Community Survey, 2013-2017 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile). 

The first nine months will establish the foundational infrastructure for developing, implementing, and deploying a high-functioning, street-outreach gun violence interruption, intervention, and prevention strategy.  

Advance Peace is dedicated to ending cyclical and retaliatory gun violence in American urban neighborhoods by investing in the development, health, and well-being of those at the center of this crisis. It is an evidence-based approach developed in Richmond, California, then replicated in Stockton and Sacramento, California. The approach uses the evidence-based practices of street outreach, mentoring, intensive case management, life skills training, cognitive behavioral therapy, and subsidized employment to engage those at the center of gun violence. The centerpiece of Advance Peace is a high-touch and personalized 18-month Peacemaker Fellowship®. The Peacemaker Fellowship® is grounded in evidence-based practice and includes seven intensive daily touchpoints between program staff, volunteers, and participating fellows.  

  The seven daily touchpoints of the fellowship include: 

1. LifeMap Goal setting.  

2. Daily Check-ins.  

3. Social Services Navigation. 

4. Transformative Travel.  

5. Elders Circle.  

6. Internship Opportunities.  

7. LifeMap Milestone Allowance.  

The elements of the Advance Peace strategy work together to help at-risk young people build connections to caring adults, obtain services they need to address needs such as past trauma, educational failure, or lack of housing, and build a pathway to a healthier life free of violence. It includes the following primary service components:  

• Street Outreach: The program will employ staff identified as Neighborhood Change Agents (NCAs) to seek out and connect with those most likely to be perpetrators or victims of gun violence. NCAs will seek to make daily contact with participants and be available to them on a 24-hour basis to establish trust and build relationships.  

• Intensive Case Management: NCAs will meet regularly with each participant enrolled as a program Fellow to provide them with intensive case management. Each NCA will carry a caseload of no more than 15 clients to ensure sufficient time to develop trusting relationships. Participants will be assigned to an NCA based on their neighborhood of origin. A key component of this work is the collaborative development of a Life Management Action Plan (LifeMap) that identifies short- and long-term goals and the steps to achieving each.  

• Life Skills Training/Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Advance Peace Consultants will provide Life Skills Training and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to participants to enable them to shift their thinking and behavior to engage with conflict more constructively and positively influence their communities.  

• Intergenerational Mentoring: In addition to the daily mentoring provided by NCAs, Fellows will have access to an Elders Circle made up of male volunteers 40 years of age or older who provide intergenerational mentoring for boys and men of color.  

• Participant Support: An additional critical element of the program will be providing support to participants in the form of stipends to enable participants to address basic needs such as food, clothing, transportation, and childcare. This support plays an essential role in preventing further involvement in crime.  

The goals of the Advance Peace Peacemaker Fellowship in Lansing/Ingham County, MI are to facilitate community partnerships and engagement; provide intensive case management services and support to individuals at the highest risk of perpetrating or being victims of firearm violence; and reduce violent crimes in Census Track 37 by 40 percent. To achieve these goals, the grantee site and its project partners, will implement the following strategies:

• Engage community stakeholders in building trusting relationships with law enforcement and other partners, identify focus areas for targeted prevention and intervention, and confirm the most effective community violence intervention (CVI) strategies. 
• Hire, train, and deploy local trusted Neighborhood Change Agents (NCAs) or Credible Messengers. They will establish consistent visible daily presence and conduct street outreach in targeted neighborhood focus areas, develop trusting relationships with stakeholders impacted by gun violence, facilitate and mediate community conflicts between individuals at the center of firearm conflict, and intervene in social media-based conflict. 
• Identify and recruit Peacemaker Fellows for Cohort #1, facilitate Advanced Peace Fellowship Program (18 months) with Cohort #1 participants and facilitate 12-week Life Skills Training and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with this group. NCAs will engage with and provide intensive case management services to Fellows for a minimum of 5-7 hours each week, offer substance abuse counseling to all Fellows, provide one-on-one intergenerational mentoring to Fellows, and facilitate Life Map development goals. 

City of Lansing, Ingham County, the Ingham County Health Department, the Lansing Police Department, the Ingham County Sheriff’s, Advance Peace, the Center for Culturally Responsive Engagement at MPHI