313 Legends

A product of Detroit’s East Side, Winans was once the kind of young man his CVI organization Detroit Friends & Family now works to save: angry, armed, and ready to stick it to the world – a young man wrapped up in cycles of violence, incarceration, and the kinds of trauma that defines so many young Black men in urban America.

Luckily, Ray did more than just survive…he overcame, rising from the ashes after serving his time and taking personal accountability for his failures.

That said, his strongest credential was his lived experience. 

He started as a messenger – counseling young men in juvenile detention, resolving conflicts between young men, and working with schools, churches, and community organizers, and from there, Detroit Friends and Family would find its framework: a relational, spiritually grounded, and genuinely street savvy street ministry -a way to forge real relationships built on love and second chances, all while training outreach workers, molding city-wide crisis violence intervention strategies, and advising national networks on how to design trauma-informed reentry programs.

In 2023, under Ray’s direction, Detroit Friends and Family was one of six organizations awarded funding through Mayor Duggan’s ShotStoppers program due to their intervention zone’s success in reducing violent crime in the city by 83% – solid proof that change requires a collective effort involving everyone’s participation.

For his fans, Ray is more than just a director; he’s a change maker who dedicates his time to engaging with young men who others do not know how to help.

For those buried under gunfire, Ray Winans is more than just a voice. 

He’s hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Ceasefire Detroit is a community-based violence intervention group that was founded in response to the untimely death of Detroit Radio Host Reggie Davis’ brother.

Through Ceasefire, Reggie has turned his pain into purpose, providing people with the dignity and support they need not to resort to violence and end a life.

He’s a man who is paving a brighter path forward for the people of Detroit, one who uses his platform on the radio and as a long-time activist to bring together unlikely allies, including business owners, city officials, clergy, mothers and fathers, and at-risk youth.

Their goal?

Less funerals and safer blocks,

Under Davis’ leadership, who has anchored Ceasefire in the evidence-informed Group Violence Intervention (GVI) framework adapted for Detroit, the organization has been involved in a range of activities, including expanding community mental health services and helping residents secure jobs…all while maintaining a constant street-level presence that helps residents feel safer on their blocks.

A man of his word, Davis’s work combines his strong moral convictions, social services, and focused mentorship that is steady, visible, and hands-on.

The mission is straightforward: meet people where they are, stand with them even in their lowest moments, and make restoring safety a community-wide activity.

Sandra Turner Hardy established the Denby Neighborhood Alliance with a clear vision in mind: to prepare the youth of today to be the leaders of tomorrow and create safer neighborhoods.

Her approach is simple yet stern: show up on time, do the work to build trust, and continue showing up.

Her goal is to turn at-risk youth into peace ambassadors, mentors, mediators, and organizers who set the tone on the blocks they were once at risk of falling victim to.

Under Sandra’s leadership, Denby has established “radical relationship-building,” which involves volunteers who listen more than they lecture and intervene long before a crisis even has a chance to erupt.

That philosophy fuels Denby’s peace circles for teens and parents, its School Violence-Free Zones, multi-generational walks, and its in-depth trauma training for block captains.

As for Sandra, her leadership style is hands-on and void of ego.

She isn’t some pageant queen or savior type.

She’s a devoted woman who puts in consistent work to help Detroit’s youth stand taller, neighbors communicate more, and block relations run cooler. 

She is the connective tissue between elders with long memories and teens with bright futures, keeping Denby’s initial founding promise intact: to help the people who actually live here lead here.

Alia founded Force Detroit in 2015, with one foot on the street and the other in the strategy room.

Her idea was simple: 

Even if people are selling drugs, carrying guns, or leading crews, those same people can save lives if steered in the right direction through the language of the heart, the right training, the right resources, and ample support.

From its inception, Alia has led Force Detroit into becoming a national example of how cities can end violence from within.

She also fought to divert public dollars from enforcement to empowerment, winning millions in ARPA funding for local CVI organizations such as Force before going on to create “My Brother’s Keeper” strategy plans for the City of Detroit and developing the framework for Detroit’s first credible messenger fellowship programs.

She believes in healing-centered leadership for Black men and women fighting to restore their dignity in the face of systemic harm, and she has forever changed how the city approaches gun violence, refusing to retreat even when she left her executive role in late 2024, letting DuJuan Kennedy take the reins while still being a strategist and mentor.

True to her mission, Alia is still on the frontlines helping Detroit rebuild its future through the same people it tried to throw away.

In every space she touches – from city hall to healing circles – Alia Harvey-Quinn is sending one message: that power exists only through the people.

Deciding that he couldn’t just sit back and let it all happen without doing his part in trying to stop it, Zeek started New Era Detroit in 2014 on the heels of the Black Lives Matter movement, firmly believing that what at-risk black Americans needed most was structure, not saviors. 

From a few men in black shirts with bullhorns to one of the city’s most respected and feared grassroots movements, Zeek built New Era into the powerhouse community violence intervention group it is today without any seed money, city grants, or political favor.

Instead, he knocked on doors, held mass meetings, recruited neighbors, cleaned streets, fed elders, and condemned hypocrisy by police, pastors, and politicians.

At its core, his leadership is rooted in action-first ideology. 

He stands for economic empowerment, cultural education, and community defense above all else.

He has also criticized performative allyship, nonprofits that siphon money without impact, and systems that profit from Black suffering.

Zeek has street wisdom and strategic chops. 

He has led conflict mediation efforts, launched national programs like Black to School, and developed the New Era Safe Zone App for residents to find CVI partners in crisis.

When New Era was invited into the ShotStoppers program, Zeek considered it validation of his mission, not just an opportunity.

Beyond Detroit, Zeek has started dozens of New Era chapters all across the U.S. 

Here at home, though, you can still find him where it all began: On the East Side with his brothers in black, holding up the very same hoods that made him.

Negus Vu is the CEO of The People’s Action, a Detroit-based grassroots agency focused on community development, youth upliftment, restoring safety, and advocacy. 

Once a high school dropout, Vu has since turned his life completely around and transforming his personal challenges into opportunities for growth and fulfillment. 

In his early twenties, he was dealing with minimal job opportunities and a lack of options – experiences that ultimately led to him creating strong pathways for others to thrive.

Doing a complete 180, Negus obtained biology training from Wayne State University, and today he is the proud owner and operator of multiple small businesses. 

He proudly leads The People’s Action through a model of direct service, advocacy work, and transformational mentorship. He also created programs like “Adopt the Block,” which partners with residents to rebuild neighborhoods from the ground up. 

A vocal advocate for grassroots public safety reform, Negus emphasizes the necessity for solid crime prevention strategies rather than just policing after a tragedy has occurred.

Under Vu’s leadership, The People’s Action is widely respected as a community anchor in Detroit—one known for combining accountability, activism, and boots-on-the-groundwork to reduce violence and uplift residents.

The Detroit 300 Community Action Team was founded by the late Eric Ford, who launched it in 2011 with the intention of starting a citizen-led safety alliance.

From the very beginning, the Detroit 300 mobilized hundreds of experienced volunteers to act as the “eyes and ears” of the streets on behalf of the most vulnerable citizens. 

Under Ford’s leadership, the team gained a reputation as a constant presence in the community, whether they were walking children to school, escorting the elderly, lending their support to families after violent incidents, or coordinating with community leaders and law enforcement to reduce violent incidents and gain trust.

This saw Ford and the Detroit 300 Community Action Team (CAT) steer the team beyond just safety patrols toward full-blown crime prevention, such as mentoring at-risk youth, de-escalating conflicts after violent incidents like shootings, and partnering up with other CVI groups to resolve neighborhood disputes before they can turn into tragedies. 

He set up emergency response and self-defense workshops, a Saturday Street Patrol program, and community safety trainings to help Detroit residents protect, stabilize, and ultimately strengthen their own communities. 

His leadership style was intentionally collective and trusted: he appointed local captains to oversee and manage neighborhood operations, volunteered his time foe de-escalation training along with CPR and trauma-informed lessons, and above all else…showed up, advocated for accountability, and always put Detroiters first. 

Though Eric Ford passed away this past September of natural causes at the age of 58, he lives on through his founding vision: to protect people, empower the block, and honor lives lost too early by ensuring there are fewer of them tomorrow.

Wayne Metro’s founder and CEO, Louis Piszker, may not be a household name in Detroit’s community violence intervention world, but that does not make his impact any less important. 

Quiet as its kept, Piszker is the leading force behind one of the most powerful CVI organizations in the state of Michigan – a man who has dedicated his life to equity, economic mobility, and long-term transformation, taking a mere housing agency and turning it into a full-spectrum community action powerhouse.

Operating within Detroit’s ShotStoppers framework, Piszker’s organization Wayne Metro serves as both a fiscal anchor and a trailblazer for smaller CVI groups looking to follow in their footsteps. 

At his core, he is low-ego and driven – a man who chases results, never headlines – One who encourages program managers to lead, never follow, firmly believing that radical transparency is needed to fully restore Wayne County’s most damaged neighborhoods.

Though he rarely partakes in public appearances, his influence is undeniable.

In a field prone to attracting flashy leadership and unstable support structures, Louis Piszker’s steady hand is one of the main reasons so many other Detroit CVI efforts now have room to grow.