The controversy over violence interrupter contracts at Minneapolis City Hall has left a gap in prevention services on the city’s North Side as of Tuesday, as several newly selected violence interrupter groups took over services across the city.

Previous contracts expired on Monday, and with it, funding for the group “We Push for Peace,” which was not re-contracted for services on the North Side.

Another group, “21 Days of Peace,” was supposed to step in until the city withdrew its contract two weeks ago amid concerns surrounding its founder, Rev. Jerry McAfee, leaving a gap with no end in sight.

RELATED: Minneapolis City Council member’s proposal to transfer $1.1M for violence intervention to Hennepin County sparks heated debate

The historically underserved, higher crime area has notably seen a drop in violent crime recently, but area council member and longtime North Sider LaTrisha Vetaw said she fears that progress could halt without city funding for services like 21 Days of Peace that she said neighbors have come to rely on.

“When it kind of like, registered, ‘Whoa, we’re losing… ‘We Push for Peace,’ and we’re losing Rev. McAfee, potentially, like that was a hard pill for me to swallow, especially when the news reports were coming out that crime is down on the North Side,” Vetaw said during an interview at her Ward 4 office on Tuesday.

“It’s not better yet. Like, it’s not over. We still need to continue doing the work to make it better.”

Community members rallied in support of McAfee and his organization outside City Council offices, citing similar concerns.

As of this report, no one was scheduled to take over the area, which includes the historically troublesome West Broadway corridor.

The city’s Neighborhood Safety Department did not have an answer on when it would contract a group to fill the gap, saying they are “…still reviewing events…” that led them to reconsider the contract with McAfee, and “…no decision has yet been made on how to proceed.”

“I have not gotten any answers yet,” Vetaw said.

“There’s an investigation going on. I don’t know of what, but that’s what they keep saying. ‘There’s an investigation.’”

In the meantime, Vetaw said about 10 jobs are also at stake.

“You know, people focus on Rev. McAfee. There are people who work for ’21 Days of Peace,’ who live in this community, that have a job that is going to lose their jobs because they don’t have that contract. That’s important,” she said.

McAfee did not previously have a city contract and has said he’ll continue to work with or without city funding.

Vetaw worried that would not be a long-term solution and without a contract, officials don’t have control over these services, nor can they track their effectiveness.

Vetaw said she’s exploring alternatives to bring before the city council in a resolution.

Timeline: Violence interrupters and Minneapolis city government

• December 2020: For the first time, the Minneapolis city budget includespermanent funding for violence interrupter programs through the MinneapolUS Strategic Outreach Initiative. The program received $2.5 million in its first year.
• May 2021: The Rev. Jerry McAfee sets out to achieve “21 Days of Peace” with volunteer patrols in the wake of three shootings over the span of a month that killed two young children and severely injured another.
• February 2022: The Minneapolis City Council approves an additional $5 million for violence interruption contracts, despite concerns about transparency and accountability.
• August 2022: Then-Commissioner of Community Safety Cedric Alexander calls for more hard data surrounding the city’s violence interrupter program.
• October 2023: Minneapolis authorizes a one year, $200,000 contract with Salem Inc., McAfee’s nonprofit, for violence intervention services.
• April 2024: Minneapolis City Council Member Robin Wonsley accuses the city’s Neighborhood Safety Department (NSD) of “mismanagement” and wrongly withholding funds from violence interrupter groups. Former NSD Director Luana Nelson-Brown later told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS she stopped payments to certain organizations over a lack of receipts and data.
• Feb. 10, 2025: McAfee blows up at Minneapolis City Council members over a plan to offload oversight of $1 million in violence interrupter contracts to Hennepin County. Council members condemned the tirade and accused him of hurling threats and homophobic remarks.
• March 10, 2025: Two 21 Days of Peace members are involved in a shootout in north Minneapolis and are later criminally charged.
• March 17, 2025: Minneapolis city officials withdraw a request for Minneapolis City Council action on violence interrupter contracts over concerns surrounding McAfee and 21 Days of Peace.
• March 25, 2025: The Minneapolis City Council Committee of the Whole accepts a new request for violence interruption contracts that excludes Salem Inc.