Community Safety Department Announces New Violence Prevention Grant Recipients; Will Host Two Community Events in Late April

The Cambridge Community Safety Department (CSD) has announced that five local organizations have been awarded grant funding from the City of Cambridge in support of the City's continued violence prevention programs and services. Members of the public are also invited to join the Department for one of two screenings for their new documentary and the release of their new impact report.

Community Conversations: Sister to Stewards, Community Service Care, Inc., InnerCity Weightlifting, Inc., My Brother's Keeper Cambridge, and On the Rise have been selected as the recipients of the grant funding. Community Conversations and On the Rise are new grant recipients, while the other organizations were previously issued grant funding. Each organization will receive $60,000 and play a crucial role in promoting ongoing community safety and well-being in Cambridge.

These five organizations, who have positively impacted the Cambridge community in a variety of ways, will help address and prevent multiple forms of violence and related trauma by supporting our strengths and resources so all residents and neighborhoods thrive.

• Community Conversations - Sister to Sister: A program that creates trusted spaces where Black women, femmes, and gender-expansive people gather to address health challenges through peer support, cultural practices, and collective care. For 17 years, Community Conversations has operated in Cambridge as community-driven infrastructure connecting lived wisdom to health equity and filling critical gaps where healthcare and social systems have failed Black communities. The grant funding will enable structured peer support training and certification program for community steering committee members and volunteers. Sister to Steward builds a trained corps of community-rooted peer supporters who can serve as frontline connectors for Black women, femmes, and gender-expansive people navigating health crises, stress, and social instability in Cambridge.

• Community Service Care, Inc./Cambridge HEART: A program under the umbrella of Community Service Care, the Cambridge Holistic Emergency Alternative Response Team (HEART) centers on marginalized people and builds local capacity to disrupt cycles of harm by responding to crises, conducting research, and facilitating community cohesion. Among several areas, the grand funding will help HEART continue their crisis response work, community cohesion events (Breath and Movement series), and research by gathering qualitative feedback from the community. More than 160 individuals received intensive follow-up and case coordination from previously issued grant funding.

• InnerCity Weightlifting, Inc. Their mission is to amplify the voice and agency of people who have been most impacted by systemic racism and mass incarceration. With a facility in Cambridge, their violence prevention services are rooted in their Personal Training Apprenticeship Program (PTAP) and comprehensive case management, both of which are designed to address the root causes of violence: economic instability, unaddressed trauma, and lack of access to supportive opportunities. The program provides youth and young adults from communities most impacted by systemic racism, street violence, and incarceration with paid employment, structured daily engagement, and clear pathways to long-term economic mobility. Through consistent participation in the program, individuals develop workforce skills such as communication, time management, conflict resolution, and professionalism. These protective factors reduce involvement in violence and negative interactions with the judicial system. More than 150 individuals participated in programming from previously issued grant funding.

• My Brother's Keeper: Located in Cambridge, My Brother's Keeper focuses on advancing equity, healing, and opportunity for young people of color by addressing the structural and systemic conditions that increase risk for violence. Grounded in the principles of racial justice and community empowerment, MBK offers mentorship, restorative leadership development, and access to economic mobility pathways. The grant funding will enable MBK to provide comprehensive violence prevention services through their Empowerment Program, which serves Cambridge residents 18-30 years old. The program delivers integrated violence prevention services across four core areas that work together to redirect young lives toward positive outcomes: post-secondary exploration, career pathways, financial education, and mental health support. More than 120 students and young adults participated in MBK programming from previously issued grant funding.

• On the Rise: An organization that provides trauma-informed, relational violence prevention services through its Safe Haven and Keep The Keys programs, supporting unhoused and formerly unhoused women, trans, and nonbinary individuals. Services include day shelter access, one-on-one advocacy, safety planning, community accompaniment, and housing stabilization, all designed to reduce harm and build long-term well-being. With violence and homelessness deeply intertwined, services explicitly address both immediate risk and long-term safety planning. Staff provide high-touch, wrap-around advocacy related to domestic and sexual violence, unsafe relationships, stalking, community harm, and the survival strategies participants rely on when formal systems have previously failed or harmed them.

"Violence prevention has long been a long-standing paramount priority for Cambridge," said Marie Mathieu, Director of the Cambridge Community Safety Department. "We are proud to continue these grants and leverage the valued resources and expertise of these community partners and supplement the vast approaches the City is already taking to prevent violence, support survivors and families, and build a more resilient and empowered community. To further our commitment around this critical work, we are also establishing a Violence Prevention Division that will enhance and promote violence prevention efforts in the City."

The City of Cambridge awarded these contracts after a thorough review of proposals received between January - February 2026. The selected organizations are required to implement their programs and services by June 30, 2026.

Members of the public are invited to join Cambridge's Community Safety Department for a screening their new documentary, "Beyond the Call" about the Department and the Cambridge community. The screening will also feature the unveiling of Community Safety's 2025 Impact Report and celebrate the importance of mental and behavioral health in our community.

There will be two screenings of the documentary. All ages and community members are welcome and encouraged to register in advance.

Screening One:

Wednesday, April 29 - Central Square Street Theory Collective at 541 Massachusetts Avenue 6 p.m.: Doors open with a CARE team social, catered dinner, DJ, and giveaways. 7 p.m.: Film screening and Q+A panel with the CARE team.

Screening Two:

Thursday, April 30 - North Cambridge Apple Cinemas at 168 Alewife Brook Parkway 6 p.m.: Doors open with snacks available, a raffle, and giveaways. 7 p.m.: Film screening and Q+A with the CARE team.

To learn more about the Community Safety Department, please visit www.cambridgesafety.org or email [email protected].

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