JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — $3 million has been awarded to neighborhoods in Jacksonville’s City Council District 10.
The funding comes in response to the Dollar General shooting that happened nearly three years ago in the district.
In August of 2023, a Clay County man drove to the Dollar General on Kings Road in Jacksonville and opened fire, killing three Black residents.
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The racist shooting garnered national attention and calls for investment in the surrounding neighborhoods, which had historically been left behind.
Now, community leaders have announced that those calls were answered.
“This initiative is not just about what we are launching today. It’s about what we’re building for tomorrow,” said Terrance Brisbane, Executive Director of the Beaver Street Enterprise Center.
State and local officials announced the $3 million state investment in the neighborhoods surrounding the site of the shooting on Thursday.
$1 million will go directly to youth and workforce development programs, while the remaining $2 million will be disbursed by the Beaver Street Enterprise Center.
Those funds will help with food insecurity, workforce training, and affordable housing.
State Representative Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville) led the charge in the Florida House to secure the funds, which were included in the state budget two years ago.
Since then, it’s taken a lot of work to put the pieces together to get to this point.
“I think it’s an important approach, for elected officials to stay in touch with the communities where the money can be most impactful and lead from the top, lead from the front in that regard, and I applaud the Governor in that regard,” said Duggan.
While nearly three years may have passed between the shooting and the announcement, the dollars have already been going to work behind the scenes.
Community leaders said the fund has helped train 35 students in various trades, 51 nursing assistants, and 12 nurses.
Expectations are that the funding will generate nearly $6 million in economic activity in the first year alone.
And Councilmember Ju’Coby Pittman (D-District 10) argued the announcement marks a promise made and a promise kept, in a community that had grown more accustomed to broken promises in years past.
“And so today is a day that we’re able to deliver and start immediately. We don’t have to wait anymore; we can start today,” said Pittman.
While these state funds are more or less a one-time investment, Pittman said she hopes to work with private, local, state, and federal partners moving forward to keep the momentum going.
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