PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Portsmouth and Norfolk are set to get millions of dollars to combat gun violence, thanks to the newly signed state budget.
The two cities were specifically named in the budget to receive at least $3 million. So far this year, the Portsmouth Police Department has investigated 21 homicides, and Norfolk has investigated 12.
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Darrell Redmond knows firsthand what it’s like to grow up around violence.
"I was that kid in those communities causing that corruption," he said.
He said to see the cycle continue is heartbreaking.
"Our kids are living in warzones," he said.
Now he’s trying to change that reality for others with his organization Give Back 2 Da Block.
"I understood what is was to have no hope. I understood what it was to have a family member killed. I understood all that pain and aggression and to be able to show them how I triumphed and turned that pain into a purpose allows them to say you know what I can navigate the same thing," he said.
Redmond said it's typically the same 5% to 7% of communities causing the violence, so he tries to intervene with those most at risk.
"A lot of the shooters, the pill poppers, the gang members. The ones that are inside situations that feel as though there’s no sense of hope."
Now, he hopes money in the state budget can add to the work they’re doing.
That budget provides at least $3 million for Norfolk and Portsmouth to fight gun violence. It’s part of two different programs -- the Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund and the Safer Communities Program.
Between the two, the funds will support street outreach, violence intervention programs, afterschool programs and connections to education and job opportunities.
"We have to meet these people where they are if we want immediate change, effective change in our community," said Redmond.
Norfolk and Portsmouth were specifically named because of their “disproportionate firearm-related homicides” compared to their populations.
The Safer Communities Program funds have a stipulation that the cities getting the money must hire a full-time employee dedicated to planning and implementing the money. With this funding, cities have to provide quarterly reports to the state to make sure the money is going to the initiatives outlined in the budget.
Redmond said cities must spend that money in smart ways to make a difference.
"Are we gonna do systematic funding? Systematic funding is giving the same money to the same people getting the same results," he said.
Joel Rubin sits on the board of Give Back 2 Da Block. He said organizations like this one are doing hard work to make a difference.
"We need people on the street. Not just the police, the police can do but so much, but we need people in there that are talking to the kids, understanding the problems, trying to stop these things from happening before they do," said Rubin. "He is intervening at the granular level and wants to train more people that can do this."
Redmond spoke out about the ongoing gun violence during the Portsmouth City Council meeting last night, with the mother of 10-year-old Keontre Thornhill by his side.
Keontre was an innocent bystander shot and killed inside his home during a fight between teenagers.
"It's traumatic to a family to lose a 10-year-old child and we sometimes move on to the next crime, or the next issue and [Redmond] is saying 'no, this is long-term damage here and we need to help this family," said Rubin.