Descriptions for each funded organization are included here.<\/a><\/p>\nKizzie Lott, Bruce Elementary School Principal, talked about the partnership with the 100 Black Men of Central Georgia, who have been funded to work directly with students on skills not offered in school, provide opportunities and trips they may not have otherwise, assist with improving literacy, and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe entire school climate is stronger because our students know they are supported, not just by a school, but by a village,\u201d she said. \u201cThis work matters because education alone is not enough. They need exposure\u2026they need access\u2026they need relationships\u2026the need examples of excellence that believe in them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we want safer neighborhoods long-term, we must invest in the emotional and mental well-being of young people and the adults who care for them,\u201d Christy Henry, Director of the Family Counseling Center of Central Georgia. It\u2019s MVP-funded program provides coordinated mentoring and supportive services to families facing persistent challenges. \u201cThis is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Services are tailored, trauma-informed and designed to meet families where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the inception of MVP in 2021, $2,941,000 has been awarded to 53 different organizations\u2019 missions to help transform the lives of children, families, and entire neighborhoods.\u00a0This money has supported afterschool programs, camps, mentor programs, family development sessions, literacy outreach, and more.<\/p>\n
By investing in prevention and support, these programs helped reduce violent crime and build safer neighborhoods. From 2022 to 2025, Macon-Bibb County saw a 60% decrease in the homicide rate and an 87% decrease in homicides among those under the age of 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want zero deaths in our community. We want to eliminate domestic violence. We want the shootings to stop,\u201d Mayor Miller said. \u201cBut we have to start somewhere, so we announced this program in 2021.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we invest in youth, in families, in mental health, in mentorship and in community-led solutions \u2014 we are investing in a safer Macon-Bibb for everyone,\u201d said Dennis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen young people have mentors, emotional support and consistent guidance, they are less likely to engage in risky or harmful behavior,\u201d says Henry. \u201cWhen caregivers have access to counseling and tools for stability, families are better equipped to weather challenges without crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macon-Bibb County has spent more than $21 million on Macon Violence Prevention programs, grants, initiatives, personnel, equipment, and more to help reduce the homicide rate and have fewer people suffer in this way. In addition to the grants through the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, there has been $1.7 million for no cost \/ low barrier mental health services, nearly $8,000,000 for public safety incentive pay, public safety salary increases, nearly $4.5 million for camera systems (ShotSpotter, Flock, Verkada), $1.65 million for violence interruption organizations, and more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not something any one organization, or any one grant cycle, can solve alone. It\u2019s a long game \u2014 and it requires a long-term strategy,\u201d added Dennis.<\/p>\n
\u201cGentlemen, what you have done cannot be measured solely in numbers. You have changed mindsets. You have opened doors. You have planted seeds that will grow long after students leave Bruce,\u201d Lott told them. \u201cThank you for investing your time, your resources, and your heart into our children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is real, lasting change that improves outcomes for families and contributes to a safer Macon-Bibb County,\u201d added Henry.<\/p>\n
About Macon Violence Prevention<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\nMacon Violence Prevention is an evidence-based, multifaceted program created to address public safety in Macon-Bibb County. Supported and funded by the consolidated government, MVP is a community-wide effort that brings together elected officials, community leaders and representatives from more than 20 agencies, organizations and departments.<\/p>\n
\u201cNearly four years ago, on a blistering hot day, hundreds of us stood in Rosa Parks Square to affirm in one voice that we must work together to fight back against the plague of violent crime affecting every neighborhood in our community,\u201d Mayor Miller said at an annual presentation of the program. \u201cSince then, we have engaged with thousands of people in our community on what is needed and where are our resources.\u00a0We heard that public safety was the most <\/em><\/strong>important issue people were facing\u2026that they were tired of feeling scared.\u00a0 And that they were willing to help make a change.\u201d<\/p>\nSince MVP\u2019s full implementation in 2022, our community has seen significant reductions in both overall and youth homicides, outpacing the declines reported in other U.S. cities during the same period. From 2022 to 2025, Macon-Bibb cut homicides by 60%, dropping from 71 to 29. Even more striking, youth homicides (among those under 18) fell from 15 in 2022 to just 2 in 2025 \u2014 an 87% reduction in only two years.<\/p>\n
The MVP program operates under the guidance of the MVP Strategic Plan<\/a><\/u>, which was introduced in June of 2021. Created by community stakeholders and violent crime experts, this strategic plan combines data and research with community feedback to implement proven solutions that reduce violent crime and strengthen the community over time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The passion for the people of Macon-Bibb County and their safety was on full display as Mayor Lester Miller addressed a crowd of more than 75 people in Commission Chambers at City Hall about the decrease in the homicide rate and efforts to continue that progress. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about people\u2019s lives,\u201d he vehemently pointed out. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":77185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2867,1806,8],"tags":[629,141,2036],"class_list":["post-77184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comms","category-mayor","category-news","tag-community-foundation-of-central-georgia","tag-grants","tag-mvp-macon-violence-prevention"],"author_name":"Emily Hopkins","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_5509-scaled.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77184"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78153,"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77184\/revisions\/78153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maconbibb.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}