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(Right to left) Executive Director of LISC Memphis Nigel Roberts with Daughters of Zion team members Alexis Boyd, Monique Wade, and Kesha Jones

Memphis, TN —— Daughters of Zion has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation Memphis (LISC) Community Violence Intervention & Prevention Program, funded through the Kresge Foundation, to expand and strengthen its Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Ecosystem in Memphis. The funding builds upon a series of successful Shelby Safe community events designed to reduce violence by addressing its root causes through education, outreach, and access to resources.

 

The grant supported expanded resident engagement, strengthened community and government partnerships, and referrals for individuals at high risk of involvement in violence to positive community engagement and outreach interventions.

 

In a city long familiar with statistics about violence, Daughters of Zion set out to change what the numbers meant—and, more importantly, who they represented. What followed, in just two months, was not simply grant compliance, but a demonstration of what community-led prevention can look like when urgency, trust, and infrastructure align.

Between November 1 and December 31, 2025, Daughters of Zion implemented a two-month Community Violence Intervention and Prevention initiative funded by the $20,000 grant from Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) through the Kresge Foundation. As of December 26, 2025, the results had already far exceeded every required benchmark—often by several hundred percent.

The project was anchored in a simple premise: prevention works best when it is relational, visible, and rooted in opportunity.

By the Numbers—And By the People Behind Them

The grant required Daughters of Zion to engage 8–10 community residents. Instead, the organization reached well over 1,100 people through direct safety outreach.

  • 1,116 safety check and pledge calls were made
  • 152 residents formally took or renewed the Shelby Safe Pledge
  • 16 residents participated in structured trainings
  • 57 residents attended the December 19 Community-Wide Shelby Safe Holiday Peace Festival event—both in person and online

In percentage terms, that represents more than a 1,000% increase over the minimum requirement.

But numbers alone don’t explain why people answered the phone—or why they stayed engaged.

“We weren’t calling to lecture people,” said Monique Wade, Project Coordinator for Daughters of Zion. “We were calling to listen, to invite, and to connect people to real pathways. When people feel seen, they show up.”

Partnerships as Prevention

The initiative required 3–5 community-based organization (CBO) partnerships. Daughters of Zion secured 8—a 60% increase over the maximum requirement.

Participating organizations included:

  • Jewish & Christian Professional Services
  • Mamma’s Wings & Things
  • Technology Plus Resource Development
  • Real Nurses LLC
  • Save Our Students from Accidental Discharges & Shootings
  • Cocaine Alcohol Awareness Program (C.A.A.P.)
  • Beauty Is in YOU
  • Jesus People Church

Each partner addressed a known driver of violence—unemployment, substance use, lack of health access, or trauma—creating a web of prevention rather than a single intervention point.

High-Risk Engagement, Without the Stigma

The grant required 10–20 high-risk individuals to be served or referred. The project reached 36 individuals, exceeding the minimum requirement by 260% and surpassing the maximum benchmark by 80%.

 

Rather than isolating high-risk individuals, Daughters of Zion integrated them into broader community engagement through:

  • Conflict de-escalation training
  • Workforce development pathways
  • Scholarships to William & Johnson Career College (CNA program)

“Intervention is key,” said Kimbrell Owens, Manager of Community Stakeholders at the Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Court, during a pre-event government Zoom briefing hosted by Daughters of Zion. “We need to do a better job letting the community know about resources—and getting parents to the table.”

Recognizing that effective violence prevention must also protect vulnerable populations—particularly seniors—Sidney Enss, Director of Volunteer Engagement and Senior Center Liaison with the Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging, provided Daughters of Zion’s leadership with practical safety guidance to share at the Community-Wide Shelby Safe Holiday Peace Festival, addressing periods of heightened risk for older adults.

“Seniors should always use a buddy system when going out,” Enss advised. “They should also beware of porch pirates during this time. Phone scams that target seniors are especially prevalent during the holidays, so extra caution is necessary. If possible, installing a Ring camera or similar device can significantly increase personal safety.”

These recommendations were shared with community members as part of Daughters of Zion’s broader commitment to community-wide prevention, underscoring that effective violence reduction must account not only for street-level crime, but also for the quiet, often overlooked risks faced by older adults.

Government at the Table

The initiative called for participation from 3–5 government agencies. Daughters of Zion engaged five agencies, exceeding the minimum requirement by 66.7% and achieving 100% of the maximum benchmark, while deepening cross-sector collaboration.

  • Lavette Austin, Shelby County Office / Shelby County Jail
  • Eric Terrell, Senior Area Manager, U.S. Small Business Administration (Tennessee District Office)
  • Sydney Enns, Director of Volunteer Engagement & Senior Center Liaison, Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging
  • Kimbrell Owens, Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Court
  • Marissa Pittman, Office of State Senator London Lamar

Their participation ranged from pre-event planning to on-site engagement, reinforcing the idea that prevention is strongest when institutions meet communities where they are.

The Night That Brought It All Together

On December 19, 2025, the initiative culminated in the Daughters of Zion Shelby Safe Holiday Peace Festival at the Event Center of Memphis on the Jesus People Church campus.

The event functioned as what organizers called “the Super Bowl” of the grant—bringing together residents, youth, agencies, and service providers in one shared space.

The event connected residents with agencies addressing the root causes of violence, including unemployment, substance use, firearm safety, and awareness of the real consequences of violent behavior. Lavette Austin of the Shelby County Office and Jail emphasized the realities of incarceration as a powerful deterrent, reinforcing prevention as a life-saving intervention.

Shelby Safe Holiday Peace Festival attendees listen to Laquita Davis of Real Nurses LLC

Economic opportunity was highlighted by Eric Terrell of the U.S. Small Business Administration, who encouraged entrepreneurship as a pathway out of poverty and violence, he told attendees he had helped people “become millionaires selling pens and paper” and invited participants to follow up directly while Laquita Davis of Real Nurses LLC shared accessible healthcare employment opportunities that reduce economic stress. Richard Robinson of Save Our Students from Accidental Discharges & Shootings addressed firearm safety education for children and families.

Substance use was addressed by Niko Brown and Alex Walker of the Cocaine Alcohol Awareness Program, who underscored peer-led recovery as a critical tool in breaking cycles of addiction and violence. Together, these partners advanced a prevention model rooted in access, accountability, and opportunity.

Niko Brown speaking at the Shelby Safe Holiday Peace Festival

After Terrell’s remarks, dozens of attendees gathered around him—phones out, questions ready, opportunity suddenly tangible.

Youth, Faith, and the Power of Story

A centerpiece of the evening was a youth-led theatrical production, “Can Scrooge Save Christmas?”, presented by the Daughters of Zion Community Peace Theater, featuring at-risk youth recruited and trained through the LISC grant.

 

The play exposed how neglect, self-serving community role models embodied by Scrooge, and the absence of moral and spiritual guidance can shape behavior—turning unmet needs into crime and community-wide decay—and how accountability and restoration can rewrite the ending.

“It opened my eyes,” said Lauren Studen, who attends Collierville High School, one of the youth performers. “At every school, you can see the difference between kids who are involved in their faith and kids who don’t.”

The performance drew sustained applause—and quiet reflection.

 

Street-Level Work, Logged and Measured

The grant required 15–20 street outreach interventions. Daughters of Zion recorded 49 documented interventions, exceeding the minimum requirement by 227% and the maximum requirement by 145%. These efforts were led by trusted community members already embedded in the neighborhoods they serve—individuals whose credibility made prevention practical rather than theoretical.

 

  • Felecia Scott owner Mamma’s Wings & Things: 24
  • Monique Wade: 13
  • Princess Walker: 6
  • Senteria Johnson: 6
  • Conflict mediation outreaches: 3

Every contact was logged by No Mistakes Allowed with name, date, activity type, and outcome—ensuring both accountability and replicability.

 

Communications That Traveled Further Than the Room

The grant required 1–2 communications products. The project produced 7 distinct communications outputs, exceeding the minimum requirement by 600% and the maximum benchmark by 250%. These materials extended the impact of the initiative well beyond the event itself, ensuring that prevention messaging reached residents who could not be present in person.

 

  • A Shelby County Observer feature article
  • DOZ Website integration of data and new LISC Community Violence Intervention & Prevention Program & Kresge Foundation website page
  • Promotional and social media flyers
  • A Violence Reduction Impact Report
  • Reels
  • video production of can “Scrooge Save Christmas?” play
  • text-blast campaigns to over 2000 community members

Each extended the reach of the work beyond the event itself.

Return on Investment: Institutional Capacity Driving Measurable Economic Impact

The return on investment generated by this initiative extended well beyond violence prevention benchmarks. Through its workforce-based intervention strategy, William & Johnson Career College, a subsidiary of Daughters of Zion, awarded six full scholarships to program participants for its six-week Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program, valued at $7,500 per student—representing a $45,000 educational investment, more than 225% of the original $20,000 LISC–Kresge grant, leveraged without additional public cost. Graduates of the Daughters of Zion’s  William Johnson Career College workforce pipeline earn an average annual salary of $40,000, meaning the six scholarships alone generate $240,000 in new annual household income entering the local economy. This equates to a 12-to-1 annual return on the original grant—before accounting for long-term earnings growth, reduced reliance on public assistance, or the documented cost savings associated with crime prevention and workforce stabilization. This vertically integrated model—combining community violence prevention with credentialed training and direct employment pathways—underscores why Daughters of Zion is widely regarded as one of Tennessee’s leading nonprofits in return on investment, consistently transforming modest grants into sustained economic mobility and community safety.

 

What the Grant Made Possible

“This work would not have been possible without the support of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation Memphis team. The leadership and guidance of Nigel Roberts and Kenya Johnson were instrumental in helping Daughters of Zion translate vision into measurable community impact. The funding allowed us to scale what we already knew worked,” Monique Wade said. “Access. Education. Opportunity. When those are present, violence doesn’t have the same space to grow. ”

As the grant period moves toward its December 31 close, thanks to the LISC grant, Daughters of Zion is already embedding the Shelby Safe Pledge directly into its website—complete with a live ticker displaying the growing number of commitments.

The numbers are impressive. But the real impact is quieter: conversations held, doors opened, and futures redirected.

In a city often defined by grim headlines, two months showed what can happen when prevention is treated not as a program—but as a community practice.

 

To participate in Daughters of Zion’s Shelby Safe Crime Intervention and Prevention initiatives—or to refer family members, friends, or at-risk individuals for needed services—please contact Daughters of Zion 24-Hour Hotline: 901-260-9933

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