COLUMBUS, Ga. ( WRBL ) — The Columbus Empowerment Initiative hosted its first open meeting on Tuesday morning at the Columbus Public Library.
Co-founder Reggie Lewis told WRBL the initiative is a community collaborative-based strategy aimed at reducing gun violence. He says this is done by addressing the root causes of poverty, unemployment, and lack of mobility. This will be done by collaborating with organizations such as Girls Inc. and Goodwill to collectively address issues in Columbus.
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Lewis says the initiative aims to bring community residents and decision-makers together to create solutions that meet everyone’s needs.
“We’re really trying to change the mindset of organizations and the community. The community feels hopeless. They feel like nobody cares. And what we’re saying is we do care. Building a framework to get this in place will take effort. But we know as we work together and we come together as a community, meaning community residents, business actors, organizations, we can transform Columbus to be a better city for all, not simply a few,” said Lewis