BUFFALO, N.Y. — The spike in shootings and homicides in Buffalo is a major concern for any elected official who represents the city.
That’s certainly true for April Baskin. Her Erie County Legislature district covers Buffalo's east and west sides, which have the most violence-prone neighborhoods.
But for Baskin it’s also very personal.
“My first cousin, Marcus Robinson, on April 24 stopped to get some gas. Some guys pulled up and murdered him,” Baskin said.
The location of the killing is across the street from Baskin’s district office on East Delavan Avenue. The case remains unsolved.
To defuse disputes that may escalate into violence, there are a number of nonprofit groups that operate in Buffalo. They include Peacemakers, Mad Dads of Greater Buffalo, Stop the Violence Coalition, and The Fathers.
Baskin, as chairwoman of the county legislature, would like to see them get county funding but with strings and questions attached.
“Solving these issues is not just about throwing funding at programming or just writing them checks. What are the stipends that the members in these groups are being paid? What type of work are they doing?” Baskin asked in a recent interview with 2 On Your Side.
Baskin has put together a proposal that she calls the Erie County Gun Violence Alleviation Alliance. She wants the work of these anti-violence groups supported with county fund but is a specific way.
The proposal calls for $500,000 for training members of these groups in peer mediation, conflict resolution, and trauma-informed care. And she wants another $300,000 spent on a software system to analyze data collected from the anti-violence groups to show “the results/outcomes of their … outreach.”
If that sounds like Baskin wants to make sure the county is getting results in exchange for its money, that’s exactly what she’s seeking. 2 On Your Side asked Baskin what she would say to groups that may be anxious about being graded in this way.
Her response, “If we’re doing the work, and we are intentional about improving the outcomes, there shouldn’t be any reason to be reluctant or concerned. But those that take issue with the type of structure that I am proposing, perhaps their resistance should be questioned. Anybody that resists that means they’re resisting improving outcomes and therefore there is no more room for them to operate in this space.”
Pastor James Giles is in agreement.
Giles leads Back to Basics Ministry that oversees Peacemakers, the best known of the community anti-violence groups. He says other governmental sources of funding for Peacemakers already require various levels of proof of performance.
But Giles wants a voice in how his group is assessed, because he says often elected officials are not aware of the depth of the job involved in deterring violence.
"I rarely see any of them at funerals. They’re not actively engaged with the players and not the gangs. They don’t know who the gangs are. They don’t know why they’re shooting. None of that of that stuff. They don’t hang out at the clubs where fights erupt. I don’t see them there out on Chippewa at clubs. so it’s really hard for you to set measurements for me.”
Baskin says she’s discussed her proposal with Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, who earlier this year declared gun violence was a county public health crisis, signaling more county spending on the issue.
But Baskin insists any increased funding has come with data being gathered to know what the county’s getting in return.
“We’re gonna do more with funding and we’re gonna give much more but when we do it, we going to have a transparent process to understand that it’s having an impact,” Baskin said.