Jacksonville Journey “2.0” to officially debut Dec. 1

jacksonville - gorgeous

Everything old is new again, the saying goes.

In North Florida, that also holds true for crime prevention initiatives.

Sources tell Florida Politics that Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is set to announce new details about a revamped Jacksonville Journey initiative on Dec. 1

The program, debuted under the mayoral administration of John Peyton, began as a response to Jacksonville’s notorious on-and-off status as Florida’s murder capital. The original, and robust budget for fixing root problems contributing to violence on the streets of Jax was set at $31 million.

During Mayor Alvin Brown‘s tenure, the Journey continued to exist – but funding and emphasis on its multipronged approach to bringing down violent crime numbers was scaled back dramatically in favor of other programs.

Now (perhaps with a Republican in charge once again) the Journey is officially back in favor. Project Director Deborah Verges, who hung onto her position through the Brown years, will continue to supervise the Journey, but in a reconstituted fashion.

Or more specifically, in the setup that used to exist, sources say, with many of the original committees and stakeholders brought back to the table to look at public safety in the 904 as they first were convened in 2008. The looming question: How will a back-in-business Journey be funded?

This is a developing story to be updated as more details emerge.

Melissa Ross

In addition to her work writing for Florida Politics, Melissa Ross also hosts and produces WJCT’s First Coast Connect, the Jacksonville NPR/PBS station’s flagship local call-in public affairs radio program. The show has won four national awards from Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI). First Coast Connect was also recognized in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014 as Best Local Radio Show by Folio Weekly’s “Best Of Jax” Readers Poll and Melissa has also been recognized as Folio Weekly’s Best Local Radio Personality. As executive producer of The 904: Shadow on the Sunshine State, Melissa and WJCT received an Emmy in the “Documentary” category at the 2011 Suncoast Emmy Awards. The 904 examined Jacksonville’s status as Florida’s murder capital. During her years in broadcast television, Melissa picked up three additional Emmys for news and feature reporting. Melissa came to WJCT in 2009 with 20 years of experience in broadcasting, including stints in Cincinnati, Chicago, Orlando and Jacksonville. Married with two children, Melissa is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism/Communications. She can be reached at [email protected].



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