Jacobsville Join In (JJI), a community development effort commissioned by the City of Evansville and a project of ECHO Housing Corporation to develop a quality of life plan for the Jacobsville neighborhood, received a $600,000 award for the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation (BCJI) Program by the Office of Justice Programs.

Jacobsville Join In leaders recognized a need to address crime in the Jacobsville neighborhood during the engagement phase of the community development project. Jennifer Mason, Jacobsville Join In Community Mobilizer, said, “As we listened to residents and stakeholders describe the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for the Jacobsville neighborhood, crime and safety were mentioned repeatedly as one of the main issues to improving the quality of life for the neighborhood.”  JJI applied for the grant in March to kick-start major improvements to address crime and physical/social disorder in the neighborhood.

The goal of the BCJI program is to fund projects to improve community safety by designing and implementing effective, comprehensive approaches to address crime within a targeted neighborhood as part of a broader strategy to advance neighborhood revitalization through cross-sector, community-based partnerships. Jacobsville is a target neighborhood with high levels of crime or types of crime, and the Jacobsville Join In initiative is able to build upon existing revitalization efforts, including its broad range of partnerships with key stakeholders.

The BCJI program will address the criminal activity with a comprehensive, community-oriented approach. Jacobsville Join In has support and partnership with the Evansville Police Department, City of Evansville Department of Metropolitan Development, Jacobsville Neighborhood Improvement Association, Jacobsville Area Community Corporation, and Diehl Consultants.

There is a crucial need in the Jacobsville neighborhood to diminish crime in an effort to revitalize this community.

Chief Billy Bolin, Evansville Police Department said, “Our officers have a deep knowledge of crime challenges and needs in Jacobsville, and as a supporter of the Jacobsville Join In Quality of Life Initiative the Evansville Police Department is excited to collaborate with the community to determine and implement the best crime solutions for Jacobsville.”

Mayor Lloyd Winnecke described crime as a community problem that deserves a community response to effect change.  “I believe this is apparent with the partnerships established with Jacobsville Join In and the Jacobsville neighborhood,” said Mayor Winnecke. “The City of Evansville is committed to Jacobsville as proof through its redevelopment efforts evidenced by time, funding and resources already contributed.”

The BCJI grant program runs on a 36-month project timeline with actions for initial 15-month project period consisting of research, to be completed by Diehl Consultants, and planning with community partners. The remaining 21-month period will be focused on implementing program strategies. The overall objectives will include:

• Conducting comprehensive research and data analysis of Jacobsville’s crime drivers to inform planning, design and implementation of coordinated, placed-based strategies.
• Decreasing physical deterioration of homes, rental properties and structures in Jacobsville.
• Reducing incidents of crime in identified “hot spot” areas by implementing evidence-based, hot spot policing strategies supported by appropriate technology.
• Increasing protective factors linked to substance abuse and poor student achievement by establishing coordinated delivery of adolescent substance abuse and family strengthening programs.
• Reducing risk factors linked to crime by establishing a coordinated delivery of emergency services, social support and recreation programs, such as reentry support, basic needs, life skills, social capital & youth / family recreation.
• Increasing overall neighborhood capacity to prevent and deter crime through the formation a cross-sector coalition to implement place-based crime prevention strategies in Jacobsville.

Leeann Pease has been hired as the Program Coordinator to manage the BCJI grant program for ECHO Housing Corporation/Jacobsville Join In.  As a resident of the neighborhood, Pease has been actively engaged in the Jacobsville Join In community development initiative participating in working groups to form the quality of life plan. Additionally, she is helping to revitalize the Jacobsville Neighborhood Improvement Association with other residents. Pease states, “Crime happens in neighborhoods that are not active and organized, I plan to continue living in Jacobsville, and I see my work as an opportunity to help the neighborhood.” Prior to joining ECHO Housing Corporation, Pease worked in the Consumer Resource Center for Mead Johnson Nutrition.