LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — ONE Lexington awarded roughly around $200,000 in grant money to 20 partner organizations working to combat gun violence in Lexington, as the city surpasses 150 days without a criminal homicide.
Devine Carama, who founded ONE Lexington as a one-person operation with a limited budget, said the milestone reflects what the community has built together.
"To be able, with the help of the community, to build this from the ground up, has been great," Carama said.
The 20 organizations applied for the funding and will split the grant money among themselves. Five of the recipient organizations focus specifically on children ages 12 to 17 who have been impacted by gun violence or currently have a parent serving a prison term.
Carama said about 36 organizations applied for the grant money. To those who did not receive funding in this cycle, he had a message.
"Keep applying. Just because we weren't able to fund you this cycle, doesn't mean you aren't part of the ecosystem. There are still other ways we can continue to work together," Carama said.
Lexington's success has drawn attention from officials in other cities grappling with violent crime. Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney attended the grant presentation.
"No homicides in 150 days, that's phenomenal," Kearney said. "So, we're working hard in Cincinnati, but when we see other cities nearby having success, we wanted to come to see what we can learn here."
Kearney said Cincinnati is looking to apply lessons from Lexington's approach to its own programs.
"Just talking to Devine and his team about the work they're doing. So, we're looking to see what we can add to our programs in Cincinnati. It's really important to learn from our peer cities," Kearney said. "This grant program is wonderful, for example, for these groups doing anti-gun violence work to get funded to carry out their work is important," she continued.
Carama confirmed he has been in contact with Cincinnati officials and said the outreach speaks to the broader potential of Lexington's model.
"They reached out to pick our brain. See what is working, and what's not working. That says a lot, it shows what we're doing is cutting edge and something that can maybe form strategies all over the country," Carama said.
To the organizations that received funding, Carama stressed the importance of responsible stewardship of the grant money.
