On Thursday, June 10, at 10:00 a.m., in Rosa Parks Square, Mayor Lester Miller, Commissioners, elected officials, department heads, community organizations, faith organization leaders, and other leaders will announce a new, data-driven and collaborative strategy to reduce violence in Macon-Bibb County. The announcement will be streamed live at www.facebook.com/maconbibbcounty.

“Reducing violent crime is a top priority for our community, and our governments, agencies, partners, and churches will be coming together, as one, to make people and our neighborhoods safer,” says Mayor Miller. “This will be an historic moment as we work together to rise to this challenge.”

The new initiative, to be named at the press conference, will build on earlier strategies to help improve public safety, from opening the Brookdale Warming Center to allocating more money for the Sheriff’s Office to creating a neighborhood-based mental health support program to aggressively addressing blight. It will also build on programs and initiatives already being formed by other organizations.

“Each of us that will be standing at this press conference can’t do this work alone. “We each have expertise and resources that can be brought to a common table to ensure we are getting to root causes of violence and ensure the resources are used to address them,” adds Mayor Miller. “Together, we can and will make Macon-Bibb County a safer place…for all of us.”