In 2012, CNN reported that Newark was the sixth most dangerous city in the United States, ending the year with 111 homicides, with one 10 day period seeing 10 murders. In 2013, Newark reported 1,264 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, nearly 30% higher than in the rest of the country, and it was the fifth year of a five year increase in Newark’s rate of violent crime, bucking the trend in the rest of the U.S. Alongside this crime, there was another issue at play. In July of 2014, the U.S. Attorney released a report which found “a pattern and practice of unconstitutional policing by the Newark Police Department,” which led to the city and the U.S. Justice Department negotiating and filing a federal consent decree in an attempt to address some of these issues. This was the backdrop in 2014, when Ras Baraka, a Newark native, activist and former principal of the city’s Central High School, whose platform included sweeping community safety reform, was elected the city’s 40th Mayor.

On the other side of the country, Aqeela Sherrills waited in the wings. Sherrills grew up in Watts in South Los Angeles, another community plagued by gang activity, violence, and little trust in the police. In 1992, Sherrills brokered a peace agreement between two of the largest, most violent, and most notorious gangs in the country, the Bloods and the Crips, but his work didn’t stop there. After the tragic death of his son, Terrell Sherrills, in 2004, Aqeela embarked on a series of visits to sacred sites around the world, and, upon his return, founded The Reverence Movement, a peace movement dedicated to changing how people process trauma and helping heal communities scarred by violence. Ras Baraka, who knew of Sherrills’ work in California, invited Aqeela to helm Newark’s community-based public safety efforts. In 2014, at Mayor Baraka’s request, Sherrills came to Newark, and their pilot project quickly grew into the Newark Community Street Team. NCST took a novel approach to public safety, viewing the issue holistically and aiming to address the root causes of crime, rather than simply focusing on crime statistics, in part through employing workers from the communities themselves.

From a pilot program with seed funding from the Mayor’s office, the Newark Community Street Team (NCST) grew, adding more staff, more training, more services, more coverage, all in the name of public and community safety. NCST began its work in the South Ward, where crime and gang activity were the highest, expanding to the West Ward only six months after its initial creation. To expand its coverage of the West Ward, NCST partnered with Newark to establish the West Ward Victims Outreach Services and Crime Reduction Initiative (WWVO), designed to offer wraparound care, connecting victims with the appropriate services and community resources, helping with transportation to medical appointments and court dates, and preventing further escalation of violent conflicts. Over the next few years, and with the continued support of Mayor Baraka, NCST continued to expand its services, team, and impact.

Read the article from What’s Next Magazine.