Two years after the Peoria City/County Health Department stepped in to fund a violence prevention program passed on by the Peoria City Council, the department’s relationship with Cure Violence Global is over.
The unanimously-passed motion to terminate the health department’s contract, effective immediately, followed an almost two-hour executive session at a special meeting of the Peoria County Board of Health Thursday night.
Board of health secretary Ben Brewer told WCBU the entire discussion was held in an executive session because terminating a contract opens the possibility of potential litigation. He said an additional motion, to have an audit performed on the department’s business with Cure Violence, is typical of any contract termination.
He did not provide any additional information on the discussions that led to the termination, but acknowledged the health department had entered and terminated contracts with two different community organizations while attempting to get Cure Violence implemented in Peoria.
In an email, Cure Violence Global Senior Director of Science and Police Charlie Ransford told WCBU the organization "does not have a comment at this time."
“We’re just looking at options in terms of, how do we transition this program,” said Public Health Administrator Monica Hendrickson before the meeting. “Whether it is, again, to release another request for proposals, potentially maintain this kind of transitional piece, or even pivot in a different direction.”
Hendrickson said she doesn’t have the exact amount of funding spent by the two previous community organizations before ending implementation efforts. She said the funding used by Peoria Community Against Violence before it ceased operations entirely late last year was “minimal.” House of Hope returned whatever remained of a $563,000 grant.
In mid-August, as the health department exited its contract with community nonprofit House of Hope, officials told WCBU the program's operation would be temporarily brought under the umbrella of the health department as next steps were being determined.
This included offering health department positions to seven violence interrupters and outreach workers hired during the House of Hope implementation. Hendrickson said four stayed on through the transition.
Some of those employees were at Thursday night’s meeting, waiting out the executive session.
“I was completely blindsided by that decision,” said Terrill Rickmon, a violence interrupter.
Rickmon said he and outreach worker Candus Irby had already started efforts in the area of South Side Peoria designated by the Cure Violence program.
“Just last week alone, I myself intervened, interrupted and stopped three incidents where it was conflict brewing which could have led to a potential violent situation just within one week,” Rickmon said. “And that was just the first week of our boots on the ground.”
“Just for the community, knowing that there was people here actually to come to them, to help them, to provide them with the resources, do the footwork and find the resources and help them, absolutely, it was, it was a great thing.” said Irby.
The board did not take any questions from the employees, adjourning the meeting minutes after returning from executive session and making both motions.
“What we were told on the way out the door is that we’ll receive a call or an update in regards to what the next steps are going to be, but absolutely, not one of our questions were answered at all,” said Irby. “So, in my head, with the program ending effective immediately, we are unemployed.”
Irby and Rickmon both have violence prevention efforts outside of Cure Violence and said their work won’t stop just because the contract with Cure Violence has ended.
Rickmon said the community Cure Violence would have helped is a neglected one that needs to be heard.
“I speak for the community, because I’m from the community for real,” he said. “So for the community not to have a voice or spokesperson, and for the community not to be heard when, even in the midst of silence, the cries are loud. They’re louder than anything. And it’s crying for help.”
