A vital Miami-Dade organization focused on preventing gun violence has just received a financial lifeline, securing $100,000 to sustain its proven community-based efforts in a moment when federal funding for similar groups has been sharply reduced.
The **Circle of Brotherhood**, a respected nonprofit that deploys street-level ‘peacemakers,’ was awarded the grant from the Everytown Community Safety Fund, a major national initiative dedicated to supporting violence intervention programs across the country. The funding announcement, made in December, arrives at a critical time for the Miami-based group, which had faced an uncertain future after losing a substantial federal grant earlier in the year.
For Executive Director Lyle Muhammad and his team of nearly 50 employees—many of whom have lived experience in the neighborhoods they serve—the new support is an emergency measure to keep their life-saving work afloat. That work focuses on high-risk intervention, youth mentorship, and connecting individuals to vital services, creating a pathway out of the cycle of violence.
A Model for the Nation
The news is particularly significant because the organization’s work is tied to a dramatic drop in local crime. Miami-Dade County has seen remarkable success in recent years, reporting a **42% decline in gun-related killings** between 2020 and 2024. The data highlights that this progress is especially notable in historically challenged areas, such as the Liberty City ZIP code (33147), where the homicide count plunged from 31 in 2020 to just five in 2024, knocking it from the county’s deadliest spot to tenth.
While local law enforcement is also credited, a recent report from the Scaling Safety initiative established a statistical correlation between the drop in homicides and the presence of community violence intervention groups like the Circle of Brotherhood. These ‘peacemakers’ are often the first on the scene after a conflict, mediating disputes and working to prevent retaliatory violence before it erupts.
The effectiveness of this model is clear. Surveys show that more than 90% of local residents rate the Circle of Brotherhood’s crime-prevention work as either “Excellent” or “Good,” a powerful endorsement of their relational approach to public safety.
Stepping Up When Federal Funds Retreat
The grant from Everytown, distributed as part of a broader $2.67 million national investment, has been praised by advocates for bridging the gap left by federal cuts. In the middle of 2025, the Department of Justice terminated a $2 million federal grant to the Circle of Brotherhood as part of a wider reduction in funding for community violence intervention programs across the country.
“As Washington turns its back on communities, Everytown is helping to ensure that life-saving community violence intervention organizations can continue their work,” said Everytown’s managing director of Community Safety Initiatives, Michael-Sean Spence. This private investment underscores the growing recognition that violence is a public health issue that requires a grassroots, holistic response, not just traditional policing.
With the new $100,000 over two years, the Circle of Brotherhood can keep its ‘peacemakers’ on the streets of Liberty City and Allapattah, ensuring that the hard-won progress in reducing gun violence in Miami is not lost to a lack of resources. The funds will go toward sustaining the outreach, youth mentorship, and reentry programs that have proven to be integral to the city’s improving safety record.