News
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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,…
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Beyond Bullets – Exploring the root causes, consequences, and solutions for gun violence.
Beyond Bullets Exploring the root causes, consequences, and solutions for gun violence. Two childhood friends notice a grim pattern in their text thread. Their messages to each other have become death notices. The victims are their friends and classmates – shot and killed before their lives could even really begin. At first, our messages came…
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Camp teaches kids ‘Hands are Meant to Heal, Not Kill’ amid youth crime increases
Kalamazoo nonprofit Urban Alliance is throwing a summer camp for kids to get bullets to stop flying. Kalamazoo Public Safety says youth crime is getting alarming and even more alarming is how often guns are being used to commit those crimes. Organizers created Life Camp to change the narrative, steering kids away from using guns…
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Summer day camps aim to help teens ‘reframe’ gun violence
Kalamazoo nonprofit Urban Alliance is bringing back a series of youth day camps this summer aimed at changing the narrative surrounding gun violence. James Harris, who is the outreach manager for Urban Alliance, said the life camps, now in their second year, help kids and young adults reshape how they think about guns and their…
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Urban Alliance looks to redirect youth from gun violence with ‘Life Camp’ events
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Urban Alliance is scheduled to have its second annual Life Camp offerings on June 13. The day camps were designed to help area youth change the narrative of gun violence in Kalamazoo and separate recklessness from recreation and lethal from legal gun usage, according to Urban Alliance. The events are scheduled in…
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The latest news from Urban Alliance
We invite you review the latest update from Urban Alliance, including a welcome to new Executive Director Terra Bautista, updates from our Outreach, Supports and Recovery, and Connections teams, an invite to Life Camps, and much more. Read the full update here.
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Why public safety officials say gun violence is decreasing in Kalamazoo
Gun violence decreased in Kalamazoo in 2022, down drastically from a spike in 2020 and 2021. Why? According to Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety leadership, a stepped-up outreach to youth in the community and a new intervention program have contributed to the decline. “If you look at our stats, lately, since August, it’s been just…