HPCAV was honored to be selected to be in the FOX8 News community spotlight in December. It was a great opportunity for viewers to learn more about HPCAV and the work we do in High Point. Here’s a link to the video and story:
https://myfox8.com/spotlight/community-foundation/high-point-group-works-to-stop-violence-in-the-community/
In the Community Spotlight
December 22, 2023 by
In Memory of Linda Faircloth
May 17, 2023 by
Supporters of HPCAV and Tiny Houses Community Development gathered Saturday morning, May 13, to dedicate a garden shed in memory of HPCAV’s much loved board member and active supporter, Linda Faircloth. The dedication was part of the celebration of the opening of this Tiny House community in High Point, designed to provide safe housing for some of our veterans and homeless neighbors.
Linda was a much-loved and respected realtor in High Point. She was a long time member of HPCAV, serving on our board and participating in call-ins, neighborhood responses and other programs. When Ed Kimsey started the Life Construction Program, Linda was one of the first clients to hire our team to do some work at her home.
Over 10 years later, it was a Life Construction Program team that built this garden shed in her honor, painting it in some of her favorite colors. We are grateful to Scott Jones, the Tiny Houses Executive Director, and the City of High Point for working with us to make this possible. And we are grateful to Linda’s family, husband John and daughters Tammy, Laura and Catherine, for sharing her with us for so many years.
The shed already houses garden tools and the beds are full of strawberries, tomatoes, peppers and squash, ready for the residents who live here and their neighbors.
Monthly Crime Statistics
April 15, 2023 by
Each month, the High Point Police Department updates the community on the past month’s activities at the open meeting of High Point Community Against Violence. This information includes overall crime rates as well as activity in specific types of crimes, such as aggravated assaults and burglaries. Key arrests and any federal or state convictions are shared. This meeting allows anyone in attendance to ask questions as well.
These statistics are then shared on the Numbers page of this website.
If you are interested in attending, the open meetings are held the second Wednesday of every month, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the High Point Police Department, 1730 Westchester Drive, High Point.
Welcome Robert Martin
January 10, 2023 by
We’re excited about the new year and our new Executive Director: Robert Martin. Robert is probably best known to his friends as a rabid Appalachian State fan (he’s a graduate). To HPCAV, he’s known as one of our founding members.
Robert was employed as a Community Corrections Officer (adult probation and parole) with the NC Department of Public Safety from 1989 to 2017. He began working in Guilford County. When High Point Regional Hospital (now Atrium Health Wake Forest) completed a needs assessment in the mid-1990’s, Robert joined the task force looking at and working to address violence. Officially representing the county’s Community Corrections office, Robert was a part of the creation of High Point Community Against Violence, Inc. and an active part of the implementation of focused deterrence here.
Robert spent the last nine years of his career in Davidson County and retired from NCDPS in 2017. He was hired as the Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator for Davidson County, doing essentially the same work for our neighboring county as he had done as a volunteer with HPCAV. He remained a member of the HPCAV Executive Board and continued to work with us.
When Jim Summey submitted his resignation, Robert was the natural and best choice to be our next Executive Director. He resigned from our Board in November, 2022 and officially began his new position on January 1, 2023. Robert has already laid the groundwork to build on what has been a great partnership
with our police department and our community. He is looking forward to moving us towards
more work with youth, our new focus area. He is a supporter of EKG2, a promising educational program on guns and gang violence for seventh graders, and hopes to see it implemented here.
Robert is as dedicated to his high school, High Point Andrews, as he is to App State. He has been an active HPAHS volunteer and supporter. He is a long time Lions Club member and an active part of the local Fraternal Order of Police. He participates in the High Point Senior Games and you can see him at HPU basketball games. He is truly dedicated to High Point and making it safer for everyone.
Join us in welcoming Robert to his new role with HPCAV!
Jim Summey Retires
December 30, 2022 by
Jim Summey retired on December 31, 2022 after 13 years as High Point Community Against Violence, Inc.’s Executive Director.
Since the early 2000’s, Jim worked tirelessly to reduce violence and improve life for the residents of High Point. He was a co-founder of West End Ministries, Inc. and Leslie’s House, both of which continue providing needed services to individuals and families. As a volunteer, he was willing to work side by side with the High Point Police Department and our very young organization to implement something new called focused deterrence. This strategy was used in the West End neighborhood to address the problem of open air drug sales. The effort was so successful it was repeated in other neighborhoods in town and then applied to other crime problems, such as robbery.
Jim was instrumental in that success and we hired him as our first Executive Director. In that role, Jim trained countless communities around our nation in what has been called the High Point Model of focused deterrence. He worked with federal, state and local law enforcement. He testified before Congress. He worked with researchers and reporters and students. Since 1998, the focused deterrence strategy has helped reduce High Point’s overall violent crime by 67%. Jim had a major role in the successful execution of this strategy in our city.
Locally, Jim led our organization through lots of new territory as we have grown in size and scope. Through stumbles and successes, the basis for all his work and ours has been the sign he kept on his desk that reads “Veritas“. He continues to pastor English Road Baptist Church, where you can hear him preach on any given Sunday morning.
In December, Jim was recognized with a Hometown Heroes Award from the NC Automobile Dealers Association, nominated by Tim Ilderton. It’s a fitting tribute for who he is and all that he has done.
While we’ll miss him at HPCAV, we’re excited about his plans to continue working for the good of all people in our city and county. He’s left HPCAV in good shape and in good hands. We’re grateful and look forward to building on that foundation of truth as we move into 2023.
Best wishes for many years of happiness and success in all you do, Jim!
Firearms by Felon Initiative
June 13, 2022 by
Crime Stoppers of High Point is beginning a new program that targets felons who are carrying illegal firearms. Anyone who reports information leading to the arrest of a felon in possession of a gun could earn $500. This effort is based on a successful program by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Tips can be made by calling Crime Stoppers at 336-889-4000 or downloading the P3 Tips mobile
app. Tips are always anonymous.
It’s another way our residents can help law enforcement make High Point safer for everyone.
Domestic Violence Strategy Gains National Attention
August 27, 2018 by
The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence has invited the High Point Police Department to present information about our Offender Focused Domestic Violence Initiative (DVI) that was begun in 2012 at its national conference in September. Based on the Violent Crime Focused Deterrence model, the DVI has helped reduce repeat domestic violence offenses in High Point. Almost 3500 offenders have been “put on notice” over the past six years of implementation. And while the program is not perfect – domestic violence continues to happen – it has made a difference, more than other strategies used in the past.
Read more about our DVI in this article from the Greensboro News and Record.
Good Things Going Around
October 2, 2015 by
On September 24, 2015, the following article was published in the High Point Enterprise, written by the president of the High Point Community Foundation. As a result, one of our clients came in and made a $100 donation to our organization. He explained that he had read the article, thought about it and wanted to give back. We are grateful to both of them!
Giving 101: Best Deal in Town
There has been a seismic shift in the philanthropic landscape over the past ten years that I, coming from a corporate background, have enthusiastically embraced. It’s called “venture philanthropy,” and it is based upon the belief that charitable gifts should be made with the same expectation one might have investing in your own personal stock portfolio.
All nonprofit organizations should have a sound business plan, a means to measure success and a return on your investment. Obviously you won’t be getting a stock dividend, but what you should see, and be able to measure, is a tangible impact. What this philosophy introduces is accountability and it’s a promise that any organization you support should be able to provide.
Now, what if I told you that there is a nonprofit in our community who can promise you multiple million dollar dividends for your investment? Would you be interested in giving to an organization that provides this kind of returns? The organization I am talking about is High Point Community against Violence (HPCAV) and it may be the best “bang for your buck” in our city. HPCAV was established years ago by a group of ordinary citizens who partnered with our High Point Police Department in an effort to make their community a more safe and productive environment to live, raise a family and run a business.
Since its inception, they have been identifying and “calling out” serious offenders, offering them a chance to mend their ways and, if they choose not to, sending them on long-term stints in federal prison. They are proactive in working with those recently released from prison by helping them with housing, food and job training, to acclimate them to society and keep them from reoffending.
Most recently, HPCAV has started using a similar format to address domestic violence, which is not only more prevalent in this community than one would think, but also presents the highest risk to our police officers who respond to the calls. The key to their success in both of these formats is that the focus is rightfully directed upon the offender and they use the power of the courts to leverage reform or remove the offenders from the community.
High Point Police Chief Marty Sumner not only endorses HPCAV, he can show you that this organization saves our High Point well over $14 million a year. It truly is the best deal in town, yet they have always struggled to raise money for their minimal budget. The Rev. Jim Summey, HPCAV’s executive director, is paid by the City of High Point and their annual budget is less than $100,000 a year.
Every citizen, and certainly all of our local businesses, should be contributing to HPCAV annually. This program, which has been nationally and internationally recognized, deserves our admiration and financial support. I encourage each of you who read this article to consider just how much it is worth to you and your family to have a community that is safe from crime. There some things in life we do simply because they are right, true and just. HPCAV is one of these and if you would like to support them send your checks to High Point Community against Violence, 792 N. Main Street, High Point, NC 27262.
PAUL LESSARD, a recipient of the Carnegie Hero Medal and a catalyst for the growth of community outreach programs, is president of the High Point Community Foundation.
HPCAV Accepts FBI Award
June 4, 2015 by
On May 1, 2015, HPCAV was presented the 2014 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award at FBI Headquarters, Washington, DC by Director James B. Comey. HPCAV was selected as the organization in North Carolina to receive this recognition. Board President Gretta Bush, Board members Robert Martin and Chris Martin, Executive Director Jim Summey, and High Point Police Chief Marty Sumner were there to receive the award.
“This year’s honorees have distinguished themselves in remarkable ways through their hard work, their leadership, and their strength of character,” said Director Comey. “They are ordinary citizens, but what they have accomplished is nothing short of extraordinary.”
“We are so honored to receive this award,” said Gretta Bush, HPCAV Board President. “After all these years of working together, it is so nice to see our efforts recognized.”
This special award was created in 1990 as a way to honor individuals and organizations for their efforts in combating crime and violence in America. Nominations are submitted by area FBI Field Offices.
High Point Community Against Violence was formed in 1997.
Focused Deterrence Works
January 31, 2015 by
Preliminary 2014 year end statistics from the High Point Police Department show, once again, that the Focused Deterrence model successfully reduces crime.
Since we started using this model in 1997, High Point’s violent crime is down 67% even though our population has increased by 44%.
Yes, we still have violent crimes take place here. But we continue to work towards less crime and making High Point a safer place for everyone. We’re getting there!