BALTIMORE — With his father in prison and his mother suffering from alcoholism, Malik Grant faced abandonment and instability early on. He got used to people letting him down.
So when outreach workers from an anti-violence program in Baltimore offered to help him stay safe and off the streets, he didn’t necessarily have high expectations.
Two years later, Grant has an apartment and a full-time job with the city’s public works department. He recently started his own business offering cleaning, landscaping and junk removal. He plans to hire other young men from his old neighborhood to show them what hard work can do.
“I just needed a push,” he said with a smile.
Grant, 29, is among about 200 people receiving support through Baltimore’s relatively new Group Violence Reduction Strategy, which targets the root causes of gun violence: hopelessness, unemployment, poverty, mental health, substance abuse, housing instability, poor conflict resolution and more.
The program uses a “carrot and stick” approach. Where possible, it offers resources and social services to those most likely to become shooters or victims. But if they remain involved in crime, they face police investigation and potential prosecution, which has led to over 350 arrests since the new strategy was launched in January 2022.
The early results are promising.
Baltimore recorded 201 homicides in 2024, the lowest annual number in over a decade, according to police data. That marks a 23% decrease from the previous year, a downward trend that began in 2023. Non-fatal shootings are also down significantly.
To some extent, the data reflects nationwide trends, as many cities saw violence peak during the pandemic. Philadelphia and Detroit are among those recording a recent drop in homicides.
That’s a relief for Baltimore, where gun violence spiked after the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 revealed an urgent need for police reform. And while other factors almost certainly contributed to the decline, including changes in policing and strong detective work, city leaders are quick to credit efforts like the Group Violence Reduction Strategy.
The program assigns each participant a life coach to help navigate everything from getting a driver’s license and opening a bank account to applying for food stamps, earning a GED, finding stable housing and keeping a job.
That often means leaving behind familiar patterns and embracing the unknown, even when a brighter future seems unavailable or unlikely, said Sterling Herring with Youth Advocate Programs, which contracts with the city to provide services.
“A lot of our guys don’t know their social security number, but know their jail ID,” Herring said. “That’s the mindset we need to change.”
Grant survived a 2020 shooting that left him hospitalized in a coma. After he joined the Youth Advocate programs, he was eligible for emergency relocation and spent several months in hotels before moving to his current apartment. It’s the first place he can proudly call home, and he shares the space with his beloved husky-pit bull mix.
After several months of rental assistance, he will soon begin to cover the rent in full on his own.
And Grant’s company recently signed its first contract. He joked that being diagnosed with OCD makes him uniquely suited to run a cleaning business.
“He turned his childhood trauma into a treasure,” said life coach Sacha Smith.
Experts say so-called “focused deterrence” programs are among the best ways to reduce gun violence, but Baltimore has tried and failed to implement similar strategies in the past.
To be successful, participants need a life-changing level of support, which requires dedicated and effective staff with access to adequate resources. The law enforcement side of the equation requires building strong cases that lead to successful prosecutions.
“It’s a hard thing to get right,” said Daniel Webster, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Gun Violence Solutions in Baltimore. “What you really want the program to do is change an entire system of how law enforcement works to combat gun violence.”
While praising the city’s recent efforts, Webster also pointed to federal and state legislation to tighten gun laws and a more aggressive approach to prosecuting illegal firearms cases in Baltimore.
Meanwhile, the Baltimore Police Department is undergoing significant court-ordered changes aimed at curbing unconstitutional practices. The agency was placed under a federal consent decree after the Justice Department launched an investigation in the wake of Gray’s death from spinal cord injuries sustained during police transport.
Homicides rose around that time and remained high for years.
Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the city is now proving that it is possible to simultaneously reduce violent crime and reform law enforcement. He attributed the success to strong partnerships between city agencies, community groups and law enforcement.
The new anti-violence strategy now operates in four out of nine police districts, with plans to expand across the city. Researchers found it was responsible for reducing shootings and homicides by about a quarter in the 18 months after it was implemented in the city’s notoriously violent West District.
Worley said increased community trust and lower caseloads are also helping detectives solve more homicides. Officers are going after the relatively small number of known shooters rather than making large-scale arrests.
Mayor Brandon Scott, who won re-election last year, released a five-year plan in 2021 that he hoped would reduce Baltimore’s gun violence by 15% annually. He created a new office to oversee anti-violence efforts, including the city’s flagship Safe Streets program, which employs mediators with credibility and knowledge of the streets.
“We’re talking about a truly Herculean effort,” Scott said in a recent interview.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore visited Baltimore earlier this month for a press conference on the homicide rate, praising what he called “an ‘all of the above’ approach.”
But officials also acknowledged the still staggering loss of life.
Kierra Morrison, whose 17-year-old son was shot and killed on Christmas Eve, attended a candlelight vigil this month in downtown Baltimore to mourn last year’s 201 victims. The city’s recent exploits brought her little comfort.
“I’m at a loss for words,” she said.
Morrison said her son had recently talked about enrolling in a job training program. It made her hopeful that he would find a bright future despite the recent challenges. If only he had had more time.
