September 2022 Newsletter
 OSHN’s Youth Engagement Services (YES!) would like to invite Louisville’s youth between the age of 16-24 to our Youth Cabinet. The Youth Cabinet works directly with Louisville’s Mayor and Metro Council and offers advice on policy, community building and equity - locally and nationally. We encourage applicants with diverse experiences, ethnicities, religions, and gender identities to apply. Deadline to apply by September 30, 2022. Youth will receive a yearly stipend of $1,000! JOIN THE YOUTH CABINET TODAY!
Upcoming Events
September Networking Night
Do you want to know how to get more involved in violence prevention work? The Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (OSHN) would like to invite you to be a part of the next Networking Night. This is an opportunity for citizens to get to know the change-agents doing the work in the Louisville area. Our September 27th presenters include Seven Counties Services – Bellwood & Brooklawn, A-ONE Allstars, and The Hope Buss.
Join us on Tuesday September 27 from 6:00p-7:30p. This will be an in-person event held at the Seven Counties Services Bellwood & Brooklawn 3125 Brooklawn Campus Drive, 40218. Food and refreshments will be served!
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Ambassador Training
The Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods (OSHN) would like to invite you to be a part of the next One Love Louisville Ambassador Training Saturday October 15, 2022. This is an opportunity for citizens to help us create a safer Louisville through safe and effective interventions taught by experts in Stop the Bleed, Conflict Resolution, Mental Health 101, Domestic Violence Awareness, The Public Health Approach to Violence, and Community Organizing.
Join us on Saturday October 15, 2022 at the Republic Bank Foundation YMCA. This will be an in-person event, and food and refreshments will be served!
Contact jacob.hazel@louisvilleky.gov for questions.
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UofL Victim Services Group
UofL Hospital, in partnership with The Office for Safe and Healtht Neighborhoods, presents Motivated Individuals Navigating Trauma (M.I.N.T). MINT is a support group created for individuals and families impacted by gun violence. The group will provide peer support, topical conversations, and inclusive activities determined by the group members.
Join the conversation, the next support group will be held on Saturday September 17, 2022 from 12pm-2pm at The Ambulatory Care Building at UofL Hospital - 550 S. Jackson Street.
Before attending a meeting for the first time, please complete this survey, we need your input!
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Ambassador Spotlight
OSHN offers multiple avenues for civic engagement to help move this important work forward. We aim to highlight these partners, referred to as violence prevention ambassadors, here.
The Smoketown Anti-violence Coalition recently assembled 25 wellness packages for victims of gun violence and families of deceased victims. The purpose of this initiative is to provide a network of caring supports at the neighborhood level. This level of intervention is designed to increase the likelihood that a grieving family will seek community supports during a time of loss.
Wellness baskets include journals, aromatherapy candles, messages of hope, keepsake items, and a compilation of mental health and other supportive resources. The Smoketown Anti-violence Coalition will also work with the local Community Violence Intervention site, YouthBuild, to help identify eligible residents for continued support in the Smoketown Neighborhood.
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Online Reading and Learning
With limited trainings and in-person gatherings, below are some interesting learning opportunities to continue to grow and develop our collective understanding of violence.
Shawnee Outdoor Learning Center
Luckett & Farley provided full design services for this new two-story nature center in Shawnee Park in Louisville, KY. The building extends over the floodplain on piers and is designed to handle flooding as the Ohio River rises. This elevation provides access to the tree canopies and a great view down the Ohio River. The site design includes adjoining gardens, nature play, and outdoor classrooms intended to serve the students and visitors.
The building will serve multiple programmatic purposes, but primarily functions to provide classroom and outdoor spaces for children on field trips. The entry area and gallery will serve as community spaces and include a rock climbing wall and art exhibit. Its green roof will serve as a public gathering space as well. The building will house offices for the administration running these programs. Read more about the Learning Center here.
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Louisville student praised for life-saving technique used to save shooting victim
A Central High School student is being praised for applying life-saving techniques she learned in the classroom to help save a mans life. Nylaia Carter is a 16-year-old pre-med student at Central High School. She learned 'Stop The Bleed' techniques in her emergency procedures course last year when she was attending Moore High School. It came in handy when she and her father were leaving her basketball practice and came across a man who had been shot in the Russell Neighborhood. Continue Reading Here.
Free Upcoming Stop the Bleed Training: October 5, 2022 at 6:30pm Free2Hope located at 2539 West Main Street. RSVP at 502-475-0555.
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What Will the First Federal Gun Reform Law in Three Decades Actually Do?
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Gunman in 1997 Paducah, KY School Shooting Could get Parole
West Paducah, KY was the site of one of the earliest school shootings to make national headlines on December 1, 1997. The teenage gunman plead guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years. Now, Michael Carneal, 39, is scheduled to appear before the parole board this week. Town residents, survivors, and victim's families are preparing for the possibility of his parole. Read more here.
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Community Board
Take a look at some of the latest news, resources, and events in the community. Keep your community informed by sharing these with family, friends, and neighbors.
Smoketown Neighborhood Celebration
Smoketown Wellness Center is hosting their Annual Smoketown Neighborhood Celebration this Thursday September 15, 2022 at 6pm. To celebrate and support the Smoketown Neighborhood there will be FREE dinner, music, games, face painting, and much more.
Also, those who join the celebration will have the opportunity to gather resources from over 20 local organizations and agencies.
Join the celebration on Thursday September 15, 2022 at 6pm-8pm at 755 South Hancock Street (near the unity monument).
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Russell Homecoming Weekend
Russell Place of Promise will be hosting a three-day celebration showcasing what the Russell neighborhood has to offer. From a night of jazz to the block party, the festival begins on Thursday September 15, 2022 at 6pm with dinner at Dasha Barbours. Friday September 16, 2022 at 6:30pm, meet the Neighborhood at the Louisville Central Community Center to enjoy a night of soul at the Silent Disco Party.
On Saturday September 17, 2022, there is a community block party that starts at 3pm located on 18th and Muhammad Ali. There will free food, family activities, live performances, and many vendors. Don't miss this weekend of history and fun!
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Would You Like to SAVE A LIFE?
Save A Life was developed as an innovative way of reducing gun violence in communities that bear the brunt of gun violence. Save A Life offers the following evidence-based prevention trainings free to community partners: firearm safety skills such as safe storage and gun handling techniques, suicide prevention with Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) and Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM), and STOP THE BLEED®.
Whitney/Strong hosts several trainings a year. To find out about upcoming events, contact Danea Cloyd at Danea@whitstrong.org
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Smoketown Family Movie Night
The Smoketown Wellness Center, in partnership with The Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, Sigma Ghamma Rho Sorrority, and the Smoketown Anti-violence Coalition hosted their first Family Movie Night last month with approximately twenty families. Family movie nights will take place monthly throughout the Fall and feature and outdoor screen on the lawn.
Screenings will take place at at 760 S. Hancock Street. They are open to the public and viewers are encouraged to bring their whole family (and a lawn chair or picnic blanket). The next premiere is scheduled for Friday September 23, 2022 at 8pm with the Pixar film, Turning Red.
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana is Seeking Mentors
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kentuckiana (BBBSKY) is recruiting "Bigs" to serve as mentors for children in all of Louisville’s neighborhoods! You have a BIG opportunity in front of you— to not only impact a child’s life today— but to transform their potential for tomorrow.
IT TAKES TWO! Two people- the mentor and the child, one year commitment, two outings per month, two total hours per month! This is a powerful way to make a difference in a young person's life that will affect them for years to come! For more information on how to become a "Big", click here or scan the QR code to learn more.
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News and Announcements
Crisis Call Diversion Program benefitting community, needs long-term commitment and expansion
The initial three months of the Louisville Metro Crisis Call Division Program (CCDP) pilot showed clear benefits and underscored the need for providing an acute non-police response for people experiencing non-violent behavioral crisis, according to a University of Louisville report provided to Metro Council.
During its initial 49 days, beginning with the program pilot’s launch on March 21, 2022, through early May, the CCDP resulted in 119 people receiving crisis support and referrals without the involvement of Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers, relieving those officers of 100 hours of time that might have been spent on the calls, the report said. The pilot limited itself to a small geographical footprint in a limited time of day so as to better understand how the program will expand in scope.
The report, prepared by the U of L Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky (CIK) based in the School of Public Health & Information Sciences, found that Louisville Metro Emergency Services, the lead agency in the pilot program’s development, and Seven County Services have “laid the foundation to provide non-police responses to behavioral health crisis,” creating “meaningful paths forward to contribute to public safety in Louisville.”
Continue Reading Here
Mayor announces an estimated $31.8 million in opioid settlement funds as leaders observe International Overdose Awareness Day
Mayor Greg Fischer today announced the city will receive and estimated $31.8 million in opioid settlement funds to buoy the city’s efforts to help people with substance abuse disorders.
Five years ago this month, Louisville was one of the first cities to join what became a national, multi-district litigation to hold drug companies and distributors responsible, “for dumping millions of opioids in our neighborhoods while refusing to monitor, identify, report and halt suspicious shipments of these drugs,” the Mayor said.
This month, the settlement was approved as a result of the actions of the companies that led to addiction and death. In the settlement, Jefferson County will receive an estimated $31.8 million over 18 years, with two payments totaling approximately $3.5 million expected to be paid by the end of this year.
Continue Reading Here
Mayor and LMPD update community about ongoing public safety reform efforts; announce virtual community forum
Mayor Greg Fischer and Louisville Metro Police Chief Erika Shields today provided the community with an update on the progress of the substantive changes initiated in the wake of the 2020 national reckoning with policing, of which Louisville was at the forefront.
The updates come as the Department of Justice continues its Patterns and Practice investigation, the Mayor said, noting that, “It’s important that the community understand the progress we’ve made on significant reforms, and the vital work yet to be done as we work to reimagine public safety – which is my No. 1 priority and Louisville Metro Government’s single greatest responsibility. My thanks go to the men and women of the Police Department who are stepping up every day to reflect and reform to become the best police department in the nation and to the protesters and community groups who never stopped demanding justice for Breonna. These reforms are a result of their tireless efforts,” said the Mayor.
Continue Reading Here.
View Safety Reform Progress Dashboard (updated quarterly) Here.
Stay Connected!
There is great work happening here in the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, and most importantly, in our community. It is our goal to keep you engaged and co-leading our important work. Our vision for Louisville is a city of safe neighborhoods where everyone is supported, free of violence, and prepared for lifelong success. We can only achieve this together, so stay connected with our monthly newsletters, social media, and visit our website for more information and additional calls to action.
Past OSHN Newsletters can be viewed here.
We would love your feedback. If you have questions or concerns regarding our newsletter, or have a related event that you would like to communicate with our networks, contact Joseph Newland.
Take care of each other. #BeThe1 OSHN Team
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