Boston mayor outlines anti-gang plan

Boston is seeking to ratchet down gang violence by placing an anti-gang coordinator at each of the city’s 19 housing developments, using a $3.1 million dollar grant from The Boston Foundation, Mayor Marty Walsh said today.

The money will let the city add more “violence interrupters” – the folks who do the outreach –

to focus on the city’s top 45 gangs, and target “at-risk, proven risk and high risk individuals” aged 14 to 24.

The idea – born out of StreetSafe Boston — is to interrupt violence, mediate and resolve conflicts and influence gang members and others in the projects. StreetSafe Boston focuses its efforts in Bowdoin/Geneva, Morton Street, Norfolk Street, the South End, and Upham’s Corner. The StreetSafe program — previously run by The Boston Foundation — is set to expire at the end of the month, after which it will be integrated into the city’s youth outreach.