Macon Violence Prevention, or MVP, was launched on Thursday, June 10 and since then, multiple forums have been held around the community to hear directly from people about the needs of their neighborhoods, peoples’ concerns for their safety, and what organizations and resources are already available.

“Violence impacts each and every one of us, no matter where it occurs, so it’s going to need all of us working together to come up with solutions that will ultimately make us all safer,” says Mayor Lester Miller. “With this money, we will be able to support organizations working directly in our neighborhoods and providing the services the people there say are needed to make us a safer community.”

The $2 million allocated in federal funds will be placed with the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, which will operate a granting program to organizations the have programs and resources to meet neighborhood needs and strategies identified in the MVP Strategic Plan. Macon-Bibb is currently holding multiple public forums in neighborhoods all over the county to hear from people on their needs, their concerns, and their strategies. That information – and looking at what has worked in other cities – will be the basis of developing the MVP Strategic Plan.

So far, hundreds of people have attended the public forums, and more are being scheduled. An online survey is being developed for people unable to attend the forum so they can provide similar information, and the Emergency Management Agency is working with a group to go door to door with the survey.

“Our MVP Strategic Plan is being built by people in our neighborhoods, by our community organizations, and by our departments and agencies…it’s being built from the ground up so that we can provide the resources where they are most needed and to ensure they will have a lasting impact,” says Mayor Miller. “We can only solve this together.”