City awards $100K to community partners for Safe Space Activation initiative

By Staff Report, posted Apr 29, 2026 on BizFayetteville.com

Graphic courtesy of the City of Fayetteville

The City of Fayetteville’s Office of Community Safety has awarded $100,000 in Safe Space Activation Grant funding to support community-led programs for youth, families and residents throughout Fayetteville this summer.

Four community-based organizations were named the inaugural recipients of the Safe Space Activation Grant. Each awardee received $25,000 to activate safe, welcoming and resource-connected spaces in neighborhoods across the city.

“We’re excited to launch Safe Space Activations across the city this summer,” said John Jones, director of the Office of Community Safety, in a press release. “These activations reflect our commitment to building safer communities through a consistent, community-led presence. Community-based organizations will activate safe spaces across neighborhoods by providing ongoing activities and resources where youth and families can connect, engage, and feel supported.”

Safe Space Activations are designed to support resident engagement, resource coordination and violence-prevention strategies by partnering with trusted local organizations. The initiative prioritizes communities identified for violence prevention, resource connection and trust-building.

The grant recipients include:

Two Six Project: Supports under-resourced youth and communities through exposure, education, and activation to foster leadership, creativity and advocacy. Connecting young entrepreneurs, creatives and athletes with marginalized youth, the organization drives positive change.

Fayetteville Urban Ministries — Find-A-Friend: North Carolina's first program of its kind, offers mentorship and support to 6-18-year-olds, guiding 140-200 at-risk youth annually. These youths face bullying, suspensions, academic issues, probation, gang involvement or family instability.

Gate Beautiful: Provides a clear path to freedom for those involved in human trafficking, prostitution, or addiction via crisis response, case management and personalized restoration plans. Through the Safe Space Activation, Gate Beautiful will broaden its programming to serve as a community resource hub, engaging residents with support and access to services.

ROOTS Mentoring: An established nonprofit of community leaders, students and parents working with at-promise youth in Fayetteville, it aims to raise youth awareness through teaching accountability, communication and code-switching.

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