Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley Launches ‘Destined for Greater’ Public Safety Initiative
Crowley highlights how $1.5 million in state grant funds are being activated with new community violence intervention projects and partnerships
MILWAUKEE – Today, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley launched “Destined for Greater,” a comprehensive public safety and community violence intervention initiative within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that brings together existing community violence intervention programs, mental wellness services and resources, and new projects funded with $1.5 million in grant funding from the State of Wisconsin Office of Violence Prevention (OVP).
The Destined for Greater initiative will work to reduce community violence by building on the measurable success of existing programs. Since the launch of Advance Peace Fellowship in 2024, 95 percent of fellows reported no new gun injuries, while the Credible Messenger Program, which started in 2021, most recently reported 76 percent of youth had no referral or offense while participating in the programming. Destined for Greater will ensure coordination between multiple projects and programs to best serve youth, families, and the community. It will create advanced collaboration between established programs and partners, such as the Milwaukee Bucks Foundation, Milwaukee Turners, Fathers Making Progress, the HIR Wellness Institute, and others. New programs and projects will be implemented in neighborhoods across Milwaukee County starting this summer.
“At Milwaukee County, we know that community safety and community health go hand in hand. That’s why we’re investing in prevention, intervention, healing, housing stability, behavioral health services, and pathways to opportunity for our young people,” said County Executive Crowley. “When we address the root causes of violence and support the well-being of our residents, we build stronger, healthier communities for everyone. Through our Destined for Greater initiative, we are working together to create safer neighborhoods, expand access to violence prevention resources, and continue to ensure every resident has the support they need to thrive.”
DHHS is taking a system-wide approach to community safety and mental wellness – using a cross-sector, multi-partner network to execute projects from boots on the ground services for people in need, to support for infrastructure and capacity. Community partners will increase capacity for services in Milwaukee County, both deepening existing collaborations and opening the door to new partnerships.
“For DHHS, this work brings together Children, Youth and Family Services, Behavioral Health Services, housing, prevention efforts and community-based violence intervention strategies,” said David Muhammad, Deputy Directory, DHHS. “It recognizes that public safety is achieved by meeting the basic needs of youth and families to change behavior and requires more than one kind of support. In addition to intervention and helping navigate conflict, they may need housing, mental health support, transformative mentoring, a job, or other services to help them thrive.”
“The Bucks are proud to stand as a civic partner in this work and help create access, opportunity and hope for local individuals and families,” said Josh Glessing, President of the Bucks and Fiserv Forum. “We’re excited to continue our work supporting pathways to jobs and opportunity for residents who are reentering the community by connecting them with jobs.”
Some DHHS programs and services, like the Advance Peace Fellowship, impact individuals with high risk factors that place them close to the gun violence crisis. Other programs and services seek to reach those with more moderate risk factors, as well as efforts working to prevent young people from ever having a reason to touch the juvenile justice system. In each case, the goal is to reduce risk factors while increasing protective factors—strategies rooted in public health approaches to reducing gun violence. By addressing all sides of the spectrum, DHHS takes an active role in gun violence prevention.
Partners will convene regularly with DHHS to report progress and affirm their commitment to the collective goal of reducing community violence, share updates, and serve as resources to each other in moving the work forward to improve impact and coordination. The Destined for Greater initiative will feature shared messaging and impacts related to Milwaukee County’s ongoing support for peace and community well-being.
The following projects will be funded through State of Wisconsin OVP funds and demonstrate the multi-component work throughout 2026:
• Milwaukee Turners: The Holistic Violence Intervention Initiative will engage community-based partners to include Fathers Making Progress, HIR Wellness Institute, Helping Kids Better Themselves, Ana Paula Soares Lynch, and Turners’ programming to provide holistic and targeted violence prevention efforts in high-need neighborhoods.
• INPOWER Solutions: Expansion of positive community-based, youth driven events, including Grinding to Glory, as well as the youth employment services through the Grow Rich Initiative.
• CC We Adapt: Technical assistance for individuals from Credible Messenger teams within Milwaukee County Children, Youth & Family Services (CYFS) to gain capacity to work within Milwaukee County Comprehensive Community Services (CCS).
• Community Justice Council: Convene and coordinate efforts with multi-sector leaders in supporting CVI staff and programming, improving coordination, and reducing youth involvement in the justice system.
• Milwaukee Bucks Foundation: Expand the Rotational Program to support skill-building, employment, and reentry for justice-involved individuals, and partner with DHHS on a violence prevention campaign.
• Providers serving youth in detention with positive support include Muhibb Dyer, Speak Wellness, AJH Solutions, and La’Ketta Caldwell.
• Funding also increases capacity of some ongoing services of the department, including crisis housing funds for individuals and families relocating due to violence, supporting professional development for Credible Messengers programs, and expanding youth employment work with Bloom Integrated Therapies and Youth Advocate Program.
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