Grant, 29, is among about 200 people receiving support through Baltimore’s relatively new Group Violence Reduction Strategy, which targets the root causes of gun violence: hopelessness, joblessness, poverty, mental health, substance abuse, housing instability, poor conflict resolution and more.
How Baltimore is saving lives by offering young men resources when they put down the guns With his dad in prison and his mom suffering from alcoholism, Malik Grant faced abandonment and instability early on.
So when outreach workers from a Baltimore anti-violence program offered to help him stay safe and leave the streets behind, he didn’t necessarily have high expectations.
But if they stay involved in crime, they face police investigation and potential prosecution, which has led to over 350 arrests since the new strategy launched in January 2022.
Baltimore recorded 201 homicides in 2024, the lowest annual total in over a decade, according to police data.
