Bad weather didn’t stop East Flatbush residents from showing up to welcome Project ECHO, a gun violence prevention community center, to the neighborhood last Friday, May 10.
“Sometimes [when] this violence happens and they pretend like the community doesn’t care, that they don’t want to support, and that they aren’t trying everything they can do to stop our young, Black youth from dying, and nothing could be further from the truth,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. “They have been screaming and yelling for the resources that the community needs to stop this killing, the shooters and these stabbers.”
ECHO, which stands for Empowering Communities through Healing and Opportunities, is supported by grants, including $1 million from the Bureau of Justice Assistance last year obtained by the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, fondly dubbed by locals as the “Godquad.” The parent organization was officially founded in 2010 as East Flatbush faced one of the worst murder rates in the city at the time.
“This is the fulfillment of a dream,” said Rev. Edward-Richard Hinds, the organization’s president. “And this is really Project ECHO: ‘silence the violence and echo the love,’ that this is a mantra that has been at the forefront of the minds and hearts of clergy. Five clergy 14 years ago sat down and asked the question: What more can we do to help our community here in East Flatbush? Having one conversation with then-C.O. of the 67th Precinct retired [Deputy] Inspector Corey Pegues—he challenged the clery, ‘Why not start a clergy council?’
“And here we are now 14 years later, opening the first [faith-leader based] Cure Violence group in New York City.”
The 67th Precinct Clergy Council is the product of more than 100 churches partnering with local police to tackle gun violence in East Flatbush, Flatbush, and other neighboring Brooklyn communities. Traditionally, outreach teams use street engagement with young people to dissuade them from picking up guns and engaging in violence. With Project ECHO, youth will now have a brick-and-mortar location to seek out the 67th Precinct Clergy Council any day of the week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Project ECHO is located at 887 Utica Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11203.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.