“We’re serving the young, the most vulnerable, and the ones who need us the most,” Lakesia Toomer, Executive Director of Next Level Community Development, told an assembled group of mayors and council members from around the state. “Our goal is to address many of the issues you’ve been discussing today.” 

 “All our programs and classes are trauma-informed, so we’re not telling people they’re wrong. We’re telling them how they can be better,” Andrea Cooke with Macon Mental Health matters told the group. 

Both were presenting on their Macon Violence Prevention (MVP) funded programs to the Georgia Municipal Association’s (GMA) Children & Youth Advisory Council, which advises it on its programs to better serve the state. It is made up of city mayors, council members, and staff, and they get valuable feedback on what GMA and other cities are doing to help support children. 

“We have to give people hope,” said Mayor Lester Miller.   

Mayor Lester Miller gave the group an overview of the program and how it got started with more than 1,000 people at a dozen community meetings around the county, as well as thousands more responses to online surveys. While there are government and public safety-led strategies, he pointed out that it is the community-led strategies that make him the most proud because it has allowed every part of the community to pull together and collaborate. 

“People in City Hall shouldn’t make street-level decisions. We looked to the people providing services, who understood the needs, to help determine solutions,” he told the group. “We’re trying to meet people where they’re at.” 

Toomer talked about her overall program and who they are serving, trying to tailor it to the specific needs of the children in attendance. That includes financial literacy, reading literacy, abstaining from at-risk behaviors, internship opportunities, and more. Children ages six through high school graduation can attend Next Level programs, but coming out of COVID, they noticed a new need: children needed more personal and one-on-one time.  

 “Where we had that gap in services, Macon-Bibb came in with funding to help us fill the gap,” Toomer said, pointing out the grant funding allowed them to hire and train more staff in evidence-based curriculum so that personal attention and support could be provided. “We make sure that our children get the support they need at all times.”  

Cooke talked about the different types of programs provided through Macon Mental Health Matters, including weekly support groups for men and women, monthly pop-up gyms, cooking classes, and more. 

“There is no health without mental health. We believe that lack of access to mental wellness is a systemic issue, so we have deliberately provided support in our neighborhoods,” added Cooke, pointing out they hold regular classes in recreation centers, public parks, the Brookdale Resource Center, and more. “Consistency has been what has helped people enter into services.” 

“We are not going to arrest our way out of violent crime,” Mayor Miller told them when describing why and how the MVP program was set up as an holistic approach to address all needs. That includes free mental health services blight removal, afterschool programs, mentor services, reentry services, and more. “We’re trying to meet people where they’re at, which is why we’re engaging with them at all levels, from the community organizations to public safety to the government.” 

“There has been a deliberate investment by Macon-Bibb County in providing free mental health services, with a focus on our most impoverished areas,” added Cooke. 

 About the Macon Violence Prevention Program   

Macon 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.   

The MVP program operates under the guidance of the MVP Strategic Plan, which was created in June of 2021 by community stakeholders and violent crime experts. The plan combines data and research with community feedback to identify and implement proven solutions that reduce violent crime and strengthen the community over time.  

In its first two years, Macon-Bibb and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia have awarded more than $1.6 million to 56 local nonprofit organizations that have identified proven or innovative solutions to reducing violent crime.  

“The solution to violent crime in our community will be found in all of us working together on the same team,” explained Mayor Lester Miller. “The fact that so many people have stepped forward shows that our community is committed to this historic effort. If we continue to work together, we will create a safer, stronger community now and for future generations.”