Last Updated 5 days by Amnon J. Jobi | Amnon Front Page

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — One local faith-based leader is at the forefront of community efforts to curb crime and promote safety, particularly in Indianapolis.

The mission started in 1999. The Indianapolis TenPoint Coalition is a clergy-led group of community volunteers and law enforcement with a mission to make Indy a safer place, and to have better communication between the police and local neighborhoods, especially African American communities.

The Rev. Charles Harrison of Barnes United Methodist Church is at the helm of the coalition.

“At that time, we were young pastors that decided to try to help address the issue of urban violence as it impacted young men of color between the ages of 12 and 24-years-old,” Harrison said.

Harrison and other pastors got the inspiration to start their own group by Boston’s TenPoint Coalition which launched in the early 90s.

Over the years the organization has connected with over 160,000 people in Indianapolis by walking the streets daily in 12 hotspot areas including: Crown Hill, Mapleton-Fall Creek, Butler-Tarkington, and Riverside neighborhoods.

Community leaders take the time to stop and talk to at-risk youth. Harrison says he can relate to many of the kids he talks to. He takes the passion from his church congregation to the streets.

“Several of us pastors have had brothers and family members that have been killed. Many of us grew up poor, so we know what it feels like to be on that side and how easy you can be pulled down a path that may be not what your choice was, but circumstance pulled you in that direction,” Harrison said.

The group also works with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and local neighborhood groups to connect people with resources. Hunger, drug trafficking, and an increase of interpersonal conflicts are some of the root causes of violence, Harrison said.

“When I first started doing this, we were running into a group of kids of six and maybe one of them had a gun,” Harrison said. “Today, almost all of them have guns and some say they have it for their own protection, but those are some of the root causes that we try to deal with.”

Hundreds of young people have been supported through activities like mentoring, sports, job training, and educational programs.

“The work that we do on the ground, 78 times in our patrol areas, our areas have gone a year without a youth homicide and half of that without anybody being killed of any age,” Harrison said.

Expanding their safety model to more communities continues to be their goal. Harrison says the relationships he’s built are long-lasting and he hopes the church stays at the forefront of the mission.

Indianapolis TenPoint Coalition says its work is far from over. They’re calling on the community to join their mission and help create a safer, brighter future for Indianapolis youth.