Violence prevention in Minneapolis is complicated to say the very least, but one long time North Minneapolis Pastor says he has some ideas.
The Rev. Jerry McAfee is passionate about violence prevention. He's been at it for more than 40 years and has seen programs work - and some programs fail.
McAfee says it's about more than just the young person getting into trouble.
"Say this young man, we'll call him Gary, got 20-some touches with the police," McAfee explains. "Not going to school."
He believes that the family has to be included in the solution.
"Well, this particular specialist would go meet not with just Gary, but Gary's whole family," McAfee tells WCCO's Susie Jones. "And then assess the family and see how to access city, county and state programmatic thrust to make the family whole."
McAfee says working together with other outreach groups and the police is essentional to success of any kind.
Rev. McAfee caused a disturbance at a Minneapolis City Council meeting a few weeks ago, just as the city was considering moving some of the violence prevention money to Hennepin County and to have the county oversee the programs, something McAfee didn't support.
"What's wrong with you all? Or maybe you all have not tasted or smelt the blood," McAfee told the gathered City Council. "Maybe you all are in these offices so much that the personal touch, the thing that moved you all to go into these offices, maybe you all have lost that. I need you to get your fire back 'bout why you ran in the first place."
That measure was not approved but the issue remains. How best, as a city, to approach violence prevention?
Mcaffee says right now there are several community groups working to that end but not all are effective.
"Interrupter approach is more external, you see them outside all of that," he says. "Well, if to me, if this thing is gonna be done right, you won't see it, but you'll see the results."
The issue of funding has become more intense, after a legal settlement was reached last August which requires organizations that receive violence prevention contracts to provide canceled checks for personnel expenses, and receipts for non-personnel expenses.
On Thursday, Minneapolis City Council members are expected to vote on whether to fund the city's violence prevention contracts for 2025.
Earlier this week, a committee voted against the spending, because terms of the contracts had not yet been finalized with five violence intervention organizations at a cost of $800,000.