Halifax to consider funding gun violence prevention program

Halifax will considerhelping fund a violence prevention program once federal funding runs out at the end of December.

Halifax's Board ofPolice Commissioners has asked the municipality for a report on sharing the cost of CeaseFire, a non-profit that aims to eliminate violence, particularly gun violence.

CeaseFire has been operating in the black communities of the municipality, including North Preston, EastPreston, North Dartmouth,MulgravePark andUniackeSquare, for the past 3 years using federal and provincial funding.

In thattime, 11 CeaseFire workers have helped 120 people and the overall number of gun-related incidents has fallen.

"I believe that our program has made a significant contribution to those decreases," said Mel Lucas, the project manager of CeaseFire.

Lucas told the board that workers have tracked down the friends of gunshot victims and convinced them not to retaliate.

The province has stepped in with some money to keep CeaseFire going untilMarch 31, 2018. But provincial officials don't want to be the sole support for a long-term program.

3 options considered

The Community Justice Society, which administers CeaseFire, proposed three options for a three-year project.

The first one is $2.2 million for the same program that's been operating.

The second proposal would expand to include young women and white peoplewho are at risk, which would cost$2.6 million.

The final version would include transition programs for people leaving the correctional system and going back into the community andwould cost $3.4 million.

2018 budget debate

Marcel Tellier,the executive director of the Community Justice Society, saidhe's hoping the municipality will share the costs of the program with the province. Hetold members of the board of policecommissioners there is "no hard or fast"formula yet.

Commissioner Carole McDougall saidthe request for funding should be considered with Halifax's new public safety strategy in mind.

The board agreed to have staff study the issuebut, because of the time pressure, asked for the report to go directly to Halifax regional council for the 2018 budget debate.