Community groups helped shield youth from gun crimes. US funding cuts have put them at risk again

Mississippi's Operation Good engaged teens in a range of programs, protecting them from violence - but that work is now in jeopardy

Most days, Fredrick Womack and his team can be found scattered throughout Jackson, Mississippi, talking to groups of young Black men and teens - whether they're working, which bills need to be paid at home and if any brewing conflicts are at risk of turning violent. Through these conversations with young men, who are both perpetrators and victims of much of the city's violence, Womack hopes he can help steer them in a different direction.

Womack, 51, is the co-founder of the non-profit Operation Good, which, in addition to this work on the streets, hosts a youth summer program and trash cleanups, and helps teen boys find odd jobs, like cutting lawns, so they can earn a few dollars instead of resorting to crime for income. It also offers critical resources for the community, like buying school clothes for kids and paying utility bills for families that can't afford them through its It Takes a Village program. That is the main underlying factor for violence," Womack said, people living in impoverished situations."