Question 1: What is your name, title, and organization/How long have you been a member of the team?‍

My name is Zakiya Kyle, and I serve as the Outreach Director for The Community Based Public Safety Collective (The Collective). It has been my honor to be a member of The Collective Team for two of its three years.

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Question 2: Can you describe what your organization does in a nutshell? ‍

The Collective is a training and technical assistance provider in the field of community-based public safety (community violence intervention). Our work centers boots on-the-ground practitioners engaged in community-led safety work in neighborhoods nationwide for decades. CBPS works parallel with law enforcement, utilizing strategies emphasizing the “public” in public safety. This work has been proven effective in transforming neighborhoods, but it has yet to be supported and funded as it should be. The Collective’s goal is to change that. We employ a three-pronged approach to build the internal systems needed to scale community based public safety- 1) Develop National Best Practices, 2) Provide Training and Sub-Granting, and 3) Create a state-by-state and national Leadership and Advocacy Program.

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Question 3: Can you share one thing from the last year, from your work, that you are really proud of?‍

I am most proud of the work we do every day to support and scale boots-on-the-ground practitioners across the country. Through our Coalition to Advance Public Safety Initiative, we moved $500,000 to the ground in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, met monthly with hundreds of CBPS Practitioners across the country to share best practices, and provided TTA to hundreds of Community-Based Organizations, Cities, States, and the Federal Government.  

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Question 4: What does public safety mean to you? ‍

The Collective’s Co-Founder, Aqeela Sherrills, shared the idea that “Safety is not only the absence of crime and violence; it’s the presence of well-being and infrastructure that supports victims and their healing.”‍

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Question 5: The You’ve Got Options Campaign is all about exposing communities both online and in-person to the “options” that exist for community-led safety solutions. Why does it matter that YOUR community have options? ‍

Those who are closest to the problem are closest to the solution. The You’ve Got Options Campaign highlights a foundational truth: The community knows what is needed. It is important that we have options because the issues are multifaceted, so the solutions must also be. There is no public safety without the public. 

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Learn more about CBPSC: https://www.cbpscollective.org/

Empowering Communities | The Community Based Public Safety Collectives Vital Mission | CVI

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