Violence Interrupters making a Big Difference in Baltimore – No homicides over 365 days

The city launched the Safe Streets program in 2007 as a public health initiative aimed at reducing shootings and homicides. There are now 10 Safe Streets sites across the city.Catholic Charities operates the Penn-North, Sandtown-Winchester, Brooklyn and Cherry Hill sites. LifeBridge Health’s Center for Hope operates at the Belvedere, Park Heights, Woodbourne-McCabe, Belair-Edison, McElderry Park and Franklin Square sites.

“Safe Streets (sites) are strategically in areas with disproportionately high rates of gun violence, so the work that goes into having a year without a homicide in these three zones cannot be understated. It’s not a coincidence,” said Stefanie Mavronis, the director of the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

“These interrupters come out here and put their life on the line, intervening so everybody can go home with their life. (It’s) a powerful thing,” said Emanuel Tarrantbey, the site director for Safe Streets Belvedere.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott joined Safe Streets workers and stakeholders on Friday in celebrating their efforts, saying it is a testament to the hard work, credibility and relationships needed to effectively mediate conflicts and make neighborhoods safer.

“As of this morning, homicides across Baltimore are down 29.3%, and non-fatal shootings are down 36.5%,” Scott said.

“We’re seeing remarkable progress since 2020. We have seen a 42% reduction in gunshot wounds treated at Sinai Hospital,” said Adam Rosenberg, the executive director of the LifeBridge Health Center for Hope, which works with Safe Streets.

As of Aug. 31, 2024, Safe Streets workers have mediated more than 946 potentially violent conflicts. City officials pointed to a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study published in March 2023 as finding some Safe Streets sites reduced gun violence in parts of Baltimore.

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