2024
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Outreach efforts are working to keep violent crimes down in Kalamazoo
KALAMAZOO, MI – Partnering with community organizations has had a positive impact on the number of shootings and killings so far this year in the City of Kalamazoo, police say. “We’re doing good this year,” says David Boysen, chief of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. “There’s a lot of good stuff going on. Our shootings…
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Advocacy groups in Kalamazoo aim to educate youth amid recent gun crimes
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The recent string of youth gun crimes in West Michigan have raised questions, including where teenagers are obtaining guns, and how it can be prevented. That is what several local groups in Kalamazoo are aiming to do. Bent Not Broken, a group that advocates for and supports youth in the criminal justice system,…
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‘I just gotta move forward’: Kalamazoo County inmates graduate from IGNITE program
KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. — Some inmates didn’t expect to graduate behind bars, but a new program launched at the Kalamazoo County Jail made it possible. The IGNITE program was launched to help inmates look forward to a life beyond bars. “I’m a college graduate, I am an electrician by trade, and yet here I am…
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Returning program will help Kalamazoo’s marginalized residents keep jobs
KALAMAZOO, MI — For Kalamazoo residents in poverty or with a criminal record, finding a career can be a struggle. From 2013 to 2019, Urban Alliance had a program to help those individuals acquire career skills. But the COVID-19 pandemic shut the program down. Now, it’s back. Urban Alliance’s Momentum Urban Employment Initiative offers coaching…
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Urban Alliance to host Life Camp to steer youth sway from gun violence in Kalamazoo
With the goal to help provide area youth with tools and resources to step outside the cycles of gun violence within Kalamazoo, Urban Alliance will kick off its third annual Life Camp event Friday, June 14. Shifting from the monthly offerings last summer and the year prior, Life Camp will now be a one-day event,…
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What has caused Kalamazoo’s surge in gun violence, and when will it end?
Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller and Urban Alliance’s James Harris discuss how law enforcement and the community are approaching Kalamazoo’s gun violence crisis. According to the FBI, the national murder rate declined in 2023 after a sharp rise during the pandemic. But Kalamazoo County had 27 homicides last year, a substantial increase from pre-pandemic levels. WMUK reporter…
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Urban Alliance’s “Change of Status” program helps men overcome their troubled backgrounds
Urban Alliance is making serious changes in the lives of men across West Michigan in its Change of Status Program. The 12-week program is designed for individuals with a history of incarceration, violent behavioral tendencies, and/or minimal substance abuse issues. In addition to supporting individual participants in removing barriers that prevent them from living full,…