VIENNA, Ga. — After dozens were hurt and two people died at a homecoming party turned mass shooting in Georgia, a non-profit anti-violence organization is considering providing security assistance.
The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, also known as the Uvalde Foundation for Kids, is considering if it should provide volunteer community patrols to Vienna in the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting.
The organization previously provided 24/7 crisis support line, launched an Emergency Victim Support Fund and planned to send counselors to the Vienna community, as well as offering $5,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
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On Tuesday, the Uvalde Foundation said it had already raised more than $7,000 to assist impacted families.
As far as assistance to the community, Uvalde Foundation leaders said they were considering providing community patrols, as they’ve done in other communities, from their STOPNOW program.
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“We are looking at what we may be able to do to help,” Daniel Chapin, founder and president of the Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, said in a statement. “We don’t want to walk into Vienna and tell people what they need. We want to talk with local officials and residents first and see whether STOPNOW could actually be useful.”
The organization said that their volunteers do not make arrests, perform criminal investigations, or take actions that would otherwise come from law enforcement.
The non-profit also said it does not want to overstep.
“We’re not looking to create another problem,” Chapin said. “If Vienna wants this kind of help and we can provide it responsibly, we’ll look at doing it. If the community doesn’t need it, we won’t.”
The foundation said that at this time, no patrols are being deployed from STOPNOW and the decision to do so will depend on community needs and local input.
“Every community is different,” Chapin said. “What works in Philadelphia or Asheville may not be what Vienna needs. That’s why we want to listen before we make a decision.”
The offer of volunteer patrols follows Mayor Eddie Daniels’ declaration of a state of emergency and institution of a temporary curfew.
The most recent official tally of casualties from the incident, including deaths and injuries, was 35 injured and two dead.
The dead were identified as Ja’Quavion Jackson, a 21-year-old from Cordele, and Macaleb Jackson, a 23-year-old from Hawkinsville.
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