Meet the front lines of violence prevention efforts in Austin
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Most of Austin's violent crime suspects and victims have had previous involvement with the criminal justice system, the city's Office of Violence Prevention (OVP) said during the Public Safety Commission meeting this month.
"It is a very small fraction of people who are driving violent crime in our community," said Michelle Myles, the head of the OVP.
That's one of the reasons why so much time and effort has been invested in boots-on-the-ground efforts to curb violence, including the work done by Jeremias Cooper and Michael Salazar with ATX Peace, pictured below.
ATX Peace operates under the OVP and involves "trusted messengers" - people with their own experiences with violence and/or incarceration - to connect with community members in either violence-prone areas.
Recent efforts from Cooper and Salazar have been focused on Burton Drive, where five of last year's 70 homicides took place.
"Now we're having pizza with the guys, coffee with the guys, and now they're coming to us and asking us how we can help them," Cooper said. "They're even saying they're willing to drop what they're doing, and come and join us at ATX peace to help prevent gun violence."
Salazar also does a lot of with Austin ISD and with people living in and connected to the Booker T. Washington housing projects.
"It's beautiful to see young people in middle school choosing to stand up against violence," he said.
The below slide, presented during the Public Safety Commission meeting, shows homicides most commonly occur in City Council Districts 1-4, which mainly constitute east and northeast Austin.
The OVP operates through budgeted city funds as well as grant funding and is currently seeking additional grant funding to expand its current programs.