The City of Greensboro has rolled out its latest violence-prevention initiative: the Greensboro Collaborative Action Network – or GSO CAN – a new community-based effort that city officials say is designed to move beyond traditional law enforcement responses and focus on collaboration and prevention.

According to a press release from the city, GSO CAN is being spearheaded jointly by the Greensboro Community Safety Department and the Greensboro Police Department. The network is intended to bring together community organizations, public safety partners, public health professionals, educators, business leaders, members of the faith community and interested residents.

“The issue of community safety and violence prevention is greater than law enforcement alone,” GPD Assistant Chief MJ Harris stated in the announcement. “It requires a citywide commitment across our community.”

Community Safety Director Latisha McNeil echoed that theme, saying, “Creating a positive and lasting change in community safety means a new way of coming together to solve problems.”

GSO CAN is described as a key part of Pillar One – “Co-Production” – of the City of Greensboro Community Safety Plan that was unveiled last June.

That plan marked a major shift by the city toward a public-health and community-engagement model for addressing violence – rather than relying primarily on policing.

The group’s first public meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Yvonne J. Johnson Event Center at Barber Park. City leaders say the network will be guided by five core goals: (1) addressing the root causes of violence, (2) fostering equity and resilience, (3) strengthening trust and collaboration, (4) using public safety data to measure progress, and (5) promoting consistent engagement across neighborhoods.

Ivey Ghee, who was recently hired by the Community Safety Department to serve as GSO CAN’s facilitator, framed the effort as a turning point.

“With GSO CAN we are moving from conversation to collaboration, from reaction to prevention, and from fragmented efforts to a unified vision,” Ghee stated. “We believe that a safer Greensboro is possible only when every partner comes to the table with honesty, accountability and a shared desire to build something better.”

The new program comes at a time when the city has a new mayor – one who made the reduction of crime and violence in the community one of the key messages of her campaign. Marikay Abuzuaiter has been active through the years with causes like Mothers Standing Against Gun Violence Initiative and Crimestoppers, and she’s also been a big advocate for the Greensboro Police Department.

In a recent interview, she told the Rhino Times that she’s attempted to help families who’ve been affected by homicides by distributing Crimestoppers leaflets hoping to generate tips about their loved one’s murder.

“After these walks,” she said, “Crimestoppers quite often receives tips concerning unsolved homicides and also about criminal activities in the area.”

So, there are a lot of creative ways the city can fight violence and all of those good ideas should be put into place.

City materials describe GSO CAN as a hub for aligning existing efforts rather than starting from scratch.

Greensboro has launched or supported a whole host of violence-prevention and community-intervention programs in recent years – including hospital-based intervention work, youth outreach initiatives and data-driven prevention strategies housed within the Community Safety Department.

 Details on those programs are outlined on the city’s violence-prevention webpage.

Greensboro already has no shortage of task forces, plans and advisory groups focused on public safety. Critics of the city’s past efforts have argued that coordination often sounds good on paper but breaks down in practice once the well-intentioned meetings end.

City officials, however, say this new effort is different because it’s explicitly built around shared accountability and ongoing collaboration rather than consisting of one-off initiatives.

Area residents and organizations interested in taking part in the effort can learn more or register their interest at www.GSOCAN.com.

The full City of Greensboro Community Safety Plan is available through the Community Safety Department’s website.

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