Project Restore: Reducing Gang Violence in Brooklyn Through Mentorship and Paid Internships

Project Restore's Impact on Brooklyn Violence

• 🎯 Project Restore is a city-led initiative credited with helping Brooklyn achieve its safest year on record in 2025.
• 💡 The program aims to reduce gang violence by offering young men an alternative path to financial stability and personal growth.

Personal Transformations Through the Program

• 🚀 Darnell Bowers, who lost his job and friends to violence, now works for Project Restore and aspires to attend Columbia University.
• ✨ Tahari Spencer, a participant who grew up surrounded by violence, is now a journalism student and works in violence intervention.
• ✅ Both individuals highlight the program as a life-changing opportunity that provided mentorship and therapy.

Program Structure and Goals

• 🧠 The pilot program, operating in Bed-Stuy since 2023, focuses on identifying youth involved in gangs.
• 🤝 The goal is to provide mentorship and therapy through paid internships, helping participants develop into their envisioned selves.
• 🎓 Many young men in the program are now pursuing education, including college and GED completion.

Evidence of Success and Community Impact

• 📈 NYPD data shows a reduction in murders in the 79th and 81st precincts, areas covered by the program.
• 🗣️ Gerald Dean Downey from Columbia University's Center for Justice notes that incarcerated students from Brooklyn often expressed the need for such community support programs.
• 🌟 The program leverages natural leaders within the community who have experienced profound life changes and can influence others positively.
• 🕊️ The Brooklyn District Attorney's office views this as the essence of lasting public safety: preventing violence before it occurs and fostering brighter futures for young people.