At Wednesday's meeting of community members following a mass shooting at Comofest, several speakers talked about a new program called The One Second Collaborative, organized by the United Way of Tarrant County.
The Collaborative launched officially in December 2022. It's an outreach program, in partnership with the city of Fort Worth, Tarrant county and others that aims to reduce gun violence through education, workforce training, and even basic needs that young people might be experiencing.
Fort Worth Councilmember Jared Williams, who represents the part of the city where the Como shooting took place, said he had a personal reason for getting involved after seeing a young member in his district killed right after taking office.
"Seeing his football helmet, the same one that I wore, sitting on top of his casket…I promised myself that I would do everything within my power to ensure that we have the resources in place to keep our children safe," Williams said.
The collaborative approach is said to be "evidence based," with data showing that a collaborative approach makes the biggest impact. Members say they plan to routinely take data from community surveys to make sure their efforts are concentrated where they should be, or for any areas they were unaware of that have not been addressed.
Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks said he hopes the group grows into more than just outreach... he would like to see a movement.
"This collaboration has been meeting with community, meeting with stakeholders to gen-up an army of people who will stand against gun violence," Brooks said.
For more information on The One Second Collaborative, click here.
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