GreenLight Fund Launches Community Safety Initiative

LEAD program to empower Lake Street corridor residents

MINNEAPOLIS, April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The GreenLight Fund Twin Cities (GLFTC) today announced a multi-year investment in Let Everyone Advance with Dignity (LEAD), a community-centered approach to reduce police interactions for low-level offenses in the city's Lake Street corridor.

LEAD fosters a public-health approach to community safety with an intent to stop individuals from cycling in and out of the legal system. A collaborative cross section of case managers, community leaders, area residents and business owners will work together to decrease recidivism and improve stability for non-violent offenders.

"Thanks to GreenLight Twin Cities, Minneapolis now has a public-private partnership that offers the prospect of real change," said former Minneapolis Mayor, Sharon Sayles Belton, a vice president for Strategic Partnerships and Alliances at Thomson Reuters. "GreenLight has an excellent track record in other cities. Thomson Reuters is pleased and proud to support this new initiative."

Simone Hardeman-Jones, executive director of GLFTC and a former Obama Administration staffer, grew up near the Lake Street corridor. "It's a hub of entrepreneurship and culture built and sustained by Black, Indigenous, LatinX and immigrant communities," she said, adding: "A cross-section of people shared with us their hope for more public safety and less unnecessary police interaction."

GreenLight chose LEAD because of it's proven effectiveness in more than 70 U.S. cities. GLFTC's coalition of partners will fund 50 participants in the first year, where desired outcomes include lowering recidivism and increasing social support for participants, while improving relationships among area residents, law enforcement, and business owners.

Naija Morris-Frazier, director of LEAD's National Support Bureau, said: "At LEAD in Seattle 58% of participants were less likely to be arrested and twice as likely to be sheltered."

Local implementation will include city officials, including the Minneapolis City Attorney's office. "Like Minneapolis, many communities around the country are seeking ways to improve public safety," said attorney Jim Rowader. "LEAD provides us with the opportunity to operate outside of the court system and engage individuals within the community in a unique and different way." 

For more information, visit greenlightfund.org/twin-cities

About GreenLight Fund
Started in Boston in 2004 with a coalition of local investors, GreenLight identifies, invites in and launches proven organizations to deliver measurable social impact. The work increases exponentially as one specific, community-identified need is addressed in each GreenLight site per year.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Meredith Leigh Moore
on behalf of GreenLight Fund Twin Cities 612-520-7569
[email protected]

SOURCE GreenLight Fund Twin Cities