The Chicago Westside Branch NAACP has begun crafting strategies to reduce crime and violence in Austin under Mayor Brandon Johnson’s new People’s Plan for Community Safety.
The plan, launched almost a year ago, will focus on specific blocks in Austin, Englewood, West Garfield Park and South Lawndale/Little Village. In Austin, the two focuses areas are located in one area bounded by Madison Street, Adams Street, Laramie Avenue and Lavergne Avenue and the other bounded by West End Avenue, Madison, Laramie and Lavergne. The NAACP last month was designated as a partner to lead the city’s hyperlocal approach to public safety in this area.
Karl Brinson, president of the local NAACP branch, said they are in the process of evaluating the resources that do exist in the Austin area, and also the gaps.
“Where we are right now is identifying what’s available right here in the midst of us. What institutions, services or facilities are right there that can work and collaborate with us?” Brinson said. “Who can convene with us to address the needs, and also house and facilitate some of those activities that need to take place to improve the community?”
The branch received a $250,000 grant from the city on Oct. 18. The funds were awarded through the People’s Plan’s grant program, and Brinson said that it is a start for more investment on the West Side. He said although his team is still evaluating where these resources will go, right now, it brings positive attention and shows investment is being made.
“It gives us an opportunity to get people’s attention and let them know that this is an area that has been damaged and marginalized for a long length of time,” Brinson said.
He added that his team is looking to collaborate with churches, schools, park facilities and community service organizations that serve and reside in the two targeted areas in Austin.
“When you deal with shareholders, you know and understand the conditions and what it is that is impacting them, hurting them, or that’s helping them,” he said.
Brinson added that the NAACP branch will work toward first reducing crime and violence through identifying what resources are available and accessible, and then bring in resources to bolster access to counseling, food and employment.
Because they need to consider all the hurdles to reducing crime and increasing quality-of-life in Austin, they won’t be pinpointing one particular area, he said.
“When you talk about our community, which has been left out since the beginning of time, it’s not that one thing that’s going to help change. It’s not that silver bullet that you can shoot that is going to create this ‘utopia.’ It varies, so it’s how we address it and letting it be known that we are addressing it,” Brinson said.
Deputy Mayor of Community Safety Garien Gatewood, who leads the People’s Plan, told the Austin Weekly News his office incorporated multiple social and economic factors to identify the areas within the four communities that needed help. This included data on crime, school closures, median-income and unemployment.
December will mark one year since Johnson launched the plan in 2023. Now, Brinson and his organization are working towards finding exactly how they can make an intentional and collaborative impact on Austin.
“We’ve got a skeleton and we’re just trying to put the meat on the bones. We’ve been doing this work for years, so people know the areas of interest that we’ve been working on. It’s all the areas that we’ve mentioned, from crime to education to health,” Brinson said. “Now we’re figuring out what, where, when and how to roll it out to make it match our needs.”