Public Safety

Indianapolis offers an important lesson in how organized communities can move from demanding change to helping govern it.LIVE FREE Indiana and its partners developed a co-governance model: grassroots leaders engage public officials consistently, shape priorities, monitor implementation, and hold institutions accountable for results. This organizing helped move $17 million toward Community Violence Intervention, non-police crisis response, and efforts to end chronic [...]

Public safety does not end when a shooting stops. Families still face grief, trauma, fear, financial strain, and the possibility of retaliation. LIVE FREE Illinois is helping build a response that treats healing as essential infrastructure.Community Healing Resource Centers connect residents with trauma-informed support, outreach, community events, and trusted local organizations. In 2024, the centers engaged 11,562 people through healing activities [...]

Detroit’s ShotStoppers initiative is building evidence for a central principle of LIVE FREE’s work: communities need the resources and authority to lead violence prevention.The city launched ShotStoppers in 2023 with an $11 million investment. Instead of relying on a single citywide provider, Detroit funded neighborhood organizations to lead Community Violence Intervention in six areas with high levels of shootings and homicides.The [...]

Peace Orlando began with a simple but powerful idea: the people closest to violence can also be closest to the solution.Launched in November 2022 by the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, Peace Orlando works with residents at the highest risk of being involved in gun violence. Neighborhood Change Associates build trusted relationships, mediate conflict, and connect participants to cognitive behavioral therapy, employment [...]