Three-Year Program Funded by $2 Million Department of Justice Grant
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 30, 2024
Austin, TX – Urban Alchemy, a San-Francisco based nonprofit that employs citizens returning from incarceration to help heal cities and neighborhoods, is undertaking a landmark study to reduce nonviolent crime in Central East Austin.
The lower-income, predominantly Black neighborhood has long been plagued by thefts, vandalism, drug crimes and sex crimes.
“I grew up in East Austin, and I want my neighbors to feel safe in their homes and out on the streets,” said Michael Duque, who’s directing the study. Police should also be welcome partners in our area instead of feared intruders. We need to figure out how to bring everyone together and build a better community.”
Duque and his team are going door-to-door gathering anecdotal feedback from residents of the area. Huston-Tillotson University, a historically Black college in East Austin, is doing statistical research, focusing on the 78702, 78721, and 78723 ZIP codes.
Urban Alchemy became a part of Austin a little over a year ago when it took over management of the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH). The city and community members were deeply impressed by the positive changes at the temporary homeless shelter, and Urban Alchemy now also runs the 8th Shelter and offers outreach and community-based public safety in the downtown area.
“I wouldn’t have set foot in the ARCH 10 years ago, but I have an office there now,” said Duque, who also runs Hoop Shop Girls Basketball, a nonprofit that uses sports to connect at-risk young women to resources that help them attend college. “I want to see the same kind of transformation in Central East Austin.”
The $2 million project, funded by a grant from the Department of Justice, is set to run approximately three years, gathering information, proposing solutions, and gathering community feedback. At the end, the team will issue a report with findings and recommendations.
About Urban Alchemy
Founded in 2018, Urban Alchemy brings a fresh approach to the problems of homelessness, crime, and challenging street conditions faced by communities throughout the nation. Currently operating in and around San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Austin, Urban Alchemy’s unique approach provides meaningful, well-paid jobs to the formerly incarcerated. These Practitioners leverage their emotional intelligence and leadership skills to empathize and de-escalate, helping create safe communities, clean communities, and housed communities.