Commissioner Murman quoted in this Tampa Tribune article on violence prevention:
Politics
Hillsborough OKs funding for anti-violence plan
By Mike Salinero | Tribune Staff
Published: September 4, 2014 |
TAMPA — It could take three or four years to see positive results from a violence-prevention plan that Hillsborough County commissioners approved Thursday.
Commissioners unanimously approved the multi-faceted plan that will cost roughly $1.9 million over five years. The county government’s contribution will be $1.26 million with other government agencies contributing money or in-kind services.
Though voting for approval, two commissioners expressed concerns that a strategic plan for curbing violence took a year to develop and now must be implemented over five years. The plan was written by the county’s Violence Prevention Collaborative, made up of 80 representatives from law enforcement, judiciary, school system and other governement agencies.
A key component of the plan was a youth survey on violence that identified areas that need help, such as social work, community organizing and education.
Commissioner Les Miller, whose district includes many of the “hot spots” identified in the youth survey, said he wanted to see more urgency and less studying.
“One of the things I hear is, ‘Please don’t study us. We’ve been studied enough,’ ” Miller said, referring to residents in his district.
Commissioner Sandy Murman said the survey included facts she already knew about what areas in her south Hillsborough district need help.
“I know we’re establishing infrastructure for the violence collaborative,” Murman said. “But how does that relate to actual service to get these (violence) numbers down. How do we do that?”
Commissioner Kevin Beckner and Annie Lyles of The Prevention Institute told the board it will take time to build the necessary framework and financial support needed to show measurable results in terms of violence reduction.
It was Beckner who created the Violence Prevention Collaborative last summer. Lyles was hired as a consultant to shepherd the collaborative’s work, which resulted in a strategic plan.
Speaking by a video stream from California, Lyles said the board must hire a coordinator whose job it will be to develop widespread community support, especially from the business sector and foundations that can help with funding. The coordinator will also weave together a network of community and neighborhood organizations that will work to change a culture of violence.
Beckner said there is no “magic wand” that can instantly turn on a comprehensive anti-violence program in a county of 1.2 million people.
“It’s not about any individual service,” Beckner said. “It’s about changing a culture … a culture that’s been breeding violence. Those things are very complicated.”
The broad-based plan that Beckner and other collaborative members rolled out Aug. 25, calls for services that strengthen families and build cohesiveness in run-down neighborhoods. Schools would play an important role by providing a safe haven for community meetings, social networking and mentoring programs.
