MIAMI – The Circle of Brotherhood is among the nonprofits aiming to prevent violence that are feeling the impact of the cuts to federal grants.
The Justice Department’s more than $800 million in cuts has impacted the Miami-based nonprofit and 364 others nationwide.
Lyle Muhammad, the organization’s executive director, said it was “devastating” to find out that the DOJ had frozen $600,000 out of a $2 million grant.
“The cuts affect frontline workers who deal with violence, intervention, and prevention,” Muhammad said.
Thomas James, who spent 32 years in prison after he was wrongfully convicted, is among the about 50 staff members whose jobs are at risk.
“They tend to open up to people like me with lived experience, more so than they would somebody who is trying to tell them something who has never lived that life, who don’t understand what they’re going through,” James said about the mentorship aspect of his work.
Muhammed and James fear that the work they are doing to help drive down crime will not only hurt them, but the community.
“I think about the peacemakers, the boots on the ground who have been able to quell and make sure no retaliation or further things have taken place,” Muhammed said.
The organization needs to raise $1.5 million to stay afloat for a year, and so far they have raised $75,000. For more information about the organization and how to donate, visit this page.