Non-profit organizations interested in applying for the City’s One Lexington Violence Prevention grants can do so ahead of the upcoming deadline of Friday, April 5.
The grant program provides community partners with resources to help prevent gun violence, a key component of the One Lexington program. Applications are available here.
Mayor Linda Gorton said that One Lexington is making progress in helping reduce gun violence among young people. “One reason for their success is the work of their community partners, funded through these grants,” she said.
In 2022, Lexington had 44 homicides, compared to 24 in 2023. For the first time in five years, Lexington had fewer than 100 shootings in 2023.
The City plans to allocate $100,000 to support the grant program, pending the approval of the Urban County Council. Grant recipients will receive up to $7,500.
One Lexington Director Devine Carama said, “One Lexington’s strategy to address youth and young adult gun violence relies heavily on amplifying and building the capacity of grassroot organizations on the frontlines supporting our community’s most vulnerable population. Over the last two years, our violence prevention grants have supported programs focused on sports, transitioning into adulthood, mentoring, conflict resolution, trauma support, art therapy, re-entry, and much more. We want to continue to support those organizations committed to the mission of reducing gun violence in our community.”
This will be the third year for the grant program. The city estimates approximately 1,200 young people were touched by programming funded by this year’s grants.
One Lexington Crisis Response Coordinator Kenneth Payne said one participant was assisted in getting housing for her and her daughter. “They were sleeping in an abandoned church,” he said. “She is now employed fulltime, and has a safe place to stay until we can help her seek permanent housing.”
Community Action Council will score the grant applications based on how well applications fit into one of the following initiatives: messaging or community events, gun violence reduction programming, and comprehensive projects addressing the first two initiatives. Grant recipients will be announced at the end of April.
Completed applications will be accepted until 5 p.m., Friday, April 5. Interested organizations can apply at https://CommunityActionCouncil.formstack.com/forms/onelexingtonfy25 .
