A father who lost his son to gun violence worries about people in some of the city’s most at-risk communities. This comes as the city endures another spate of recent killings, including three deaths within a 24-hour period.
Kenny Barber, president of the Griffin Heights Neighborhood Association, was part of a press conference on gun violence Monday, hosted by the Frenchtown Southside Political Action Coalition.
Barber noted the city is spending $5 million to curb the violence, but he’s doubtful that will do the job.
He points out that a portion of the money will be put into the Community Human Services Partnership, a funding process that allows local organizations and nonprofits to compete for funding from the city and Leon County.
“Through that process, if they would just think a little out the box, open their minds and be willing to invest in some programs that aren’t established, aren’t run by the United Ways or the Boys and Girls Clubs — all of those folks who — the nonprofits that I call nonprofit machines — then they probably would get some decent programs,” Barber said.
There have been more than 40 shootings in Leon County so far this year. More than a dozen people have been killed.
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