DAYTON — Dayton city leaders talked about the violence interruption program on Wednesday, but still could not say when it will start.
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As News Center 7 previously reported, the program was first unveiled in July 2024. Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims, Jr. said he had hoped to have the program up and running before Memorial Day of this year, but that did not happen.
In June 2025, Public Health Dayton and Montgomery County backed out of helping fund the program. The next month, it was announced that the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA) would partner with the city to fund the program.
On Wednesday, the Dayton City Commission approved a contract to support the next stage of the program, which includes seeking applications from community-based nonprofits to partner with GDAHA in its work to reduce community violence.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, these nonprofits would identify and train teams that will work in targeted neighborhoods to build relationships with high-risk individuals, intervene in conflicts, and build trust within the community.
“This is major for us in terms of finding more and better ways to address some of the violence issues that we have in our community,” Mims said.
Last week, the Dayton police chief told News Center 7 that violent crime numbers are down 19 percent across the city, but says even one crime is too many, and it’s important to stay vigilant when it comes to people’s safety.
The city has been working with Cure Violence Global to identify violent hotspots in the city. Some of the city’s areas of concern include North Main, Five Oaks, and Westwood.
“We’re hoping that the organization understands that violence is a, is a disease and that it can spread and has spread in many of our communities,” Quinones Corniel, Associate Director for Strategic Planning with Cure Violence Global.
Corniel said while many people were waiting for an update on where the city stood with the program, he was studying Dayton. He spent about five days in the city, taking tours with the mayor, riding along with Dayton police, and talking with people who live here.
“You’re talking about putting things in place to interrupt the transmission of violence, you’re talking about putting things in place, they are changing the group norms of a particular community, a society, or culture,” Corniel said.
Interested organizations have until Oct. 30 to apply. They can find information on it here. An informational webinar will be held on Oct. 2.
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