The Community Coalition works to address community violence through strategic, timely, and coordinated best-practice efforts. Their efforts are accomplished in partnership with community leadership, neighborhood residents, and law enforcement.
Strategic Objectives:
- Promote violence prevention as a way of life for community and residents
- Use data-driven approach to prioritize efforts
- Coordinate and support activities to promote positive police/community relations
Key Projects:
Activities
Opportunities are created to assist in communication with local law enforcement and neighborhood residents.
Trainings
Community-based trainings address trauma, implicit bias, micro-aggression, de-escalation, and cultural awareness.
Planning
Ongoing police-community dialogues and safety planning work to expand post-incident trauma healing.
Strategies
Evidence-based violence interruption strategies address conflict, retaliation, prevention, and meditation.
Resources
Affected individuals are connected with resources, support, and options to deter community violence.
Previous Initiatives:
Countywide Coordinating Committee to Address Community Violence
In 2015, when the community began to see an increase in community gun violence for the first time, the Community Coalition began the work to identify and implement approaches to respond to these tragedies. This response included support from grassroots groups, impacted community members, faith groups, and volunteers from every corner of Champaign-Urbana.
Victory Over Violence
The Champaign County Community Coalition, in partnership with WCIA-TV, hosted a special Community Coalition meeting and Victory Over Violence Town Hall on October 13, 2021.
Next Steps
The City of Champaign has taken on the heavy lift of reducing community violence through the implementation of the Community Gun Violence Reduction Blueprint. The Blueprint is a comprehensive strategy to address the root causes of gun violence in Champaign. The Blueprint is implemented through the Community Safety and Justice Division of the Equity and Engagement Department with three goal areas that include strategies that have been designed based on best practices and evaluation results.
Goal 1: Prevent/Reduce Gun Violence and Promote Safety
Goal 2: Community Engagement and Support
Goal 3: Data-Driven Decision Making
