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ONE Lexington We leverage government resources & community partnerships to make our city a safer for young people.

View our social media public comment policy here: lexingtonky.gov/social-media-public-comment-policy

10/16/2026

Sometimes you have to know where we've been to understand what we are doing and where we are trying to go. Let's dive into some more data.

Overall Nonfatal Shootings in Lexington, KY Through October 15th:

2022: 111
2023: 69
2024: 60
2025: 46
2026: 39

Nonfatal Shootings (Ages 29 & Under) in Lexington, KY Through October 15th:

2022: 81
2023: 54
2024: 31
2025: 25
2026: 20

"If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to lose a child." - Devine Carama.

The progress we've seen in our city over the last 5 years starts with our public safety partners, Lexington Police Department, Lexington Fire Department, E-911, and more. But the ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Community has stepped up in a major way as well, and the connectivity and unity in our violence prevention ecosystem is making a big difference. This is a community effort. As long as we continue working together with "all hearts on deck", I believe we can continue to increase opportunity and the quality of life for our most underserved communities.

In the comment section is a link to the city's transparency page so you can research past and present gun violence statistics as well as a link to ONE Lexington's "All Hearts On Deck" community-based strategy to address youth and young adult gun violence.

Tuesday was an example of how unified and locked in our city's violence prevention ecosystem really is! ONE Lexington Gu...
10/15/2026

Tuesday was an example of how unified and locked in our city's violence prevention ecosystem really is! ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Community and the University of Kentucky Community Innovation Lab brought together survivors, elected officials, public safety officers, Fayette County Public Schools, medical professionals, nonprofits, mental health professionals, young people, and more to this year's 4th Annual Youth & Young Adult Gun Violence Symposium: How We Respond to Tragedy.

This year, the symposium's primary focus was the city’s crisis response strategy. More specifically, how the city's gun violence prevention ecosystem responds to gun violence, its efforts to mitigate retaliatory violence, and how we as a community support gun violence survivors. The recent events towards the end of the summer shifted our focus for this year's symposium, as we wanted the professional development opportunities, speakers, and information that comes out of this day to be fruitful and relevant to what is happening in our city now! This was an opportunity to not just complain about the problem, but to be a part of the solution!

Our keynote this year was Whitney Austin, who was a survivor of the mass shooting at Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati back in 2018 and subsequently started her own organization, Whitney Strong. Her story of survival (shot 12 times) and advocacy resonated with those in attendance in a major way, as she talked about the importance of a layered support structure for those who have been impacted by gun violence. The event featured a panel discussion of mothers AND fathers who have lost loved ones to gun violence. We were also joined by Crawford Middle School Leadership Academy students from Ms. Sara Jackson Green's 8th grade civics class, who not only talked to us about their personal experiences with gun violence, but challenged us as a community on what we can do better to keep their neighborhoods safe.

The winners of those year's Community Game Changer Awards were individuals who play major role in our community's crisis response strategy. congratulations to Nestor Gomez, Kenneth Payne, Dr. Andrw c. Bernard, and the Lexington Police Department's Lt. Jeff Jackson.

For more info on how to get involved, contact our director Devine Carama at [email protected] You can also visit our current community-based violence prevention strategy HERE -https://content.lexingtonky.gov/sites/default/files/2026-09/All%20Hearts%20On%20Deck%20UPDATED.pdf

Pictures taken by Femi Branded

Pretty emotional morning for our ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Community team, as we received some thank you let...
10/14/2026

Pretty emotional morning for our ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Community team, as we received some thank you letter from last year's recipients of our "Be the Change" Scholarship opportunity. This program, in partnership with Blue Grass Community Foundation, awards $5,000 scholarships to 12 graduating Fayette County Public Schools seniors, who plan to enter fields where diverse voices and perspectives are underrepresented and where their work can make a meaningful difference in preventing violence and strengthening communities—such as criminal justice, mental health, education, nursing, social work, and other related fields.

Another example of the PREVENTATIVE, long-term work of addressing violence in our community! Learn more about the program below! Contact our director, Devine Carama at [email protected] for details!

Established by ONE Lexington, the Be the Change Scholarship supports graduating high school seniors of Fayette County Public Schools who plan to pursue careers that can help address gun violence and the systemic factors that contribute to it. This scholarship encourages students to enter fields where diverse voices and perspectives are underrepresented and where their work can make a meaningful difference in preventing violence and strengthening communities—such as criminal justice, mental health, education, nursing, social work, and other related fields. Priority is shown to those students who face financial hardship or have other circumstances that make pursuing higher education more difficult. ONE Lexington is dedicated to reducing violence in Lexington and through this scholarship, seeks to provide life-changing opportunities that empower the next generation of leaders to Be the Change that makes our community safer, stronger, and more equitable.

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!!! Community Healing Sessions RESUMES TODAY!!!The ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Community has worked to create ...
10/13/2026

!!! Community Healing Sessions RESUMES TODAY!!!

The ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Community has worked to create a consistent healing space for the fall for those directly impacted by last month's shooting. The goal is not only to provide support for those directly impacted by the mass shooting at Charles Young Park but also for anyone needing a space for healing. One of the root causes of gun violence, identified in our strategic plans, is untreated trauma. For too long, residents in our most underserved communities have battled generational stigma, lack of access, affordability, and other systemic barriers when it comes to getting quality healthcare. We hope this space can help address those gaps and connect people to long-term resources. Your presence is welcome!

Below are some of the things we look to provide for the community in these spaces.

Art therapy (drawing, painting, etc.)
Mindfulness exercises
Grief therapy
Youth mental health counseling, potentially including peer-support groups
Calming music or music-based art

RESUMING TODAY, October 13th, we will facilitate Community Healing Sessions on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, September through November, from 5:30 to 7 pm at Shiloh Baptist Church - Lexington, KY, 237 East 5th Street, Lexington, KY 40508. We will reevaluate after the holidays to determine next steps. Below are the remaining dates.

October 13th
October 27th
November 10th
November 24th

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10/12/2026

The month of October is National Month, and today we are revisiting the Podcast, hosted by Sam Stockley and ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Community director, Devine Carama. This podcast is facilitated by men and features male guests with the goal of unpacking and discussing domestic violence from different aspects. Encouraging men to not only talk about this topic but get active in addressing an issue that is having a deadly impact on our community.

On this episode, Devine, Vice Mayor Dan Wu and entertainer and activist, Andrew Shayde, discuss the dynamics of gender equality and Identity.

Amazing collaborative space created by Lillie Ruschell and Stephanie Theakstan for the It's Time Lexington campaign.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE HERE - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJPDZRsKRwc&t=1126s

10/09/2026

FREE tutoring this Saturday from 9-11 am at Charles Young Community Center for ALL Fayette County Public Schools! PLEASE SHARE!

We've recently heard political candidates and others falsely accuse our program of only "showing up after the fact" when...
10/09/2026

We've recently heard political candidates and others falsely accuse our program of only "showing up after the fact" when it comes to addressing violence. While we don't believe this was done intentionally and most likely due to a lack of knowledge of information about our program, those types of claims disrespects the incredible work being done by our staff and our community partners who effectively identify our most vulnerable young people and then engage them with PREVENTATIVE support and services like our N.O.C.A.P. program. Disrupting cycles, breaking generational curses, and reaching young people BEFORE they get swept up in the cycle of violence, is a large part of our work!

Here are some recent images of participants gaining basketball skills training through 2Juston Justin Taylor & Evolve 2 Perform, boxing lessons through Corey Dunn & 454 Fitness, and one-on-one tutoring through Ibrahim Saulim and Club Z Tutoring of Lexington, KY.

Learn more about our NOCAP program below or by contacting our director, Devine Carama at [email protected], and register your child here! - https://forms.gle/1QLrTZuD6rVnJQHn9

Nurturing or Creating Alternative Pathways (N.O.C.A.P) ONE Lexington partnered with the Community Action Council for our N.O.C.A.P. (Nurturing Or Creating Alternative Pathways) program, which covered the program and activities fees (up to $39,000) last year for youth, ages 10-17, with incarcerated parents or who have been directly impacted by gun violence. FREE programming was offered by Evolve to Perform (basketball), 454 Fitness (boxing), Northern League (baseball), JK Productions (recording studio), and Awesome Inc. (computer coding). This year, we served 50 youth through our N.O.CA.P. initiative.

Here is what some of the most recent studies have said about the effect parental incarceration has on children:

"These hidden victims receive little personal support and do not benefit from the systemic societal mechanisms generally available to direct crime victims, despite their prevalence and their similarities to direct crime victims." - Eric Martin of the National Institute of Justice

"Children of incarcerated parents may also face many other challenging circumstances. They may have experienced trauma related to their parents’ arrest or experiences leading up to it. Children of incarcerated parents may also be more likely to have faced other adverse childhood experiences, including witnessing violence in their communities or directly in their household, or exposure to drug and alcohol use/misuse." - Youth.gov

10/08/2026

“We all have dreams and goals, but are we willing to sacrifice and put in the work to wield those dreams into reality?” - Devine Carama leading one of our weekly in-school mentoring groups in partnership with Fayette County Public Schools!

After a rough end to the summer, things have seemed to calm back down in our community. The ONE Lexington Gun Violence P...
10/07/2026

After a rough end to the summer, things have seemed to calm back down in our community. The ONE Lexington Gun Violence Prevention Community be remiss, not to acknowledge those we lost and those impacted by the recent spike in violence in our city, as well as their loved ones. We'd also like to send prayers out all of the service providers who were supporting these individuals and families, day and night, helping them and the entire community heal from a very rough time in our city. Thanks to all of you who continue to dedicate yourselves towards addressing one of the most pivotal issues of our time. Your work is indeed making an impact!

Per the Lexington Police Department's Transparency Page:

Total Gun-Related Homicides Through September

2022: 30
2023: 20
2024: 13
2025: 16
2026: 8

Youth & Young Adult Gun-Related Homicides Through September (Ages 29 & Under):

2022: 11
2023: 11
2024: 6
2025: 10
2026: 5

Below is a link to this week’s One Lexington latest update, which includes updated gun violence statistics, youth engagement numbers, intervention referrals, program & service updates, and more. Keep in mind that homicide and shooting stats do not reflect accidental shootings or suicides. Through our updated strategic planning sessions last year, "gun safety" arose as something ONE Lexington and the city's violence prevention ecosystem should focus on as well. We look forward to building a comprehensive prevention strategy centered around gun safety moving forward. If you have any questions, feel free to contact our Director, Devine Carama at [email protected]

ONE Lexington August & September Update -https://content.lexingtonky.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/August%20Sept.%202026.pdf

Address

200 E. Main Street
Lexington, KY
40507

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18594252255

Website

https://content.lexingtonky.gov/sites/default/files/2025-06/AHOD%20Current%20Plan%20-%20FINAL.pdf

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