Best of This Is Nashville: Keeping our communities safe

The This Is Nashville team is closing out 2022 by revisiting our best episodes. We'll be back on the air with a new episode on January 4. Until then, happy listening and happy holidays! This episode originally aired on March 24.  Everyone wants to live in a safe community. The big question is, what is the best way to prevent violence? The 2020 murder of George Floyd created new urgency across the country to find alternatives to policing. Nashville was no exception. Over the past few years, one local anti-violence group, Gideon’s Army, has been trying out one approach called violence interruption. The approach treats violence like an infectious disease and takes a community-based approach to public safety. On today’s episode, we’ll hear how this approach has been going. (Update: The city has yet to dole out the $1.5 million set aside for violence interruption. The Metro Council is expected to vote in January on which groups will split the funding.) We’re joined by a panel of community members who have been personally affected by violence, to hear what they would like to see the city and local advocacy groups do to keep our communities safe, beyond policing. We will also hear from some of the people doing the work, including a boxing coach and an emergency physician.   Guests:  Nashville Peacemakers and Mothers over Murder founder Clemmie Greenly Susie McClendon, member of Mothers over Murder Randall Venson, founder and CEO of the International Boxing Academy of Nashville Dr. Katrina Green, emergency physician and board member of Gideon’s Army Previous WPLN reporting:  A partner in Nashville’s first violence interruption program pulls out, amid scrutiny of the city’s public safety funding efforts Nashville’s mayor set aside millions for community members working to reduce violence. Where has that money gone?