BATON ROUGE -  Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced on Saturday that her Safe, Hopeful, Healthy Initiative, will utilize $2 million in CARES Act Funding to address public safety in Baton Rouge.

"I can not and I will not be silent about what we see happening, Baton Rouge, enough is enough, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said.

The initiative is aimed to fight the increase in crime following the global coronavirus pandemic. 

“We know that violence, at its core, is induced by a number of factors; we know crime is more likely to occur when people are unable to meet their most basic needs: an education, a stable income, transportation, or access to nutritious food and healthcare,” said Mayor Broome. “The only way for us to move forward is to take a comprehensive, all-encompassing, approach to address the issues facing our community.”

This new initiative plans to disrupt "the cycle of violence, strengthen family support, revitalize neighborhoods, promote academic education, and prioritize access to care," says Mayor Broome. 

In order to accomplish this goal, this will be done by mentorship programs, connecting residents to social services, improving the opportunities available within the community through youth development programs, and connecting residents to neighborhood-based public benefits and supportive services.

The four pillars of Safe, Hopeful, Healthy Initiative are:

·         Prioritize Community-Based Public Safety

·         Stabilize Youth, Family & Community

·         Expand Health In All Policies

·         Create Equitable Community Development

The program will work to align resources and partnerships between diverse stakeholders. This will accelerate progress on complex social conditions, policies, and practices to advance health, public safety, and well being in Baton Rouge.  

Efforts within the Safe, Hopeful, Healthy Initiative will be informed by analytics from the Baton Rouge Police Department and public health data.