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Birmingham mothers Christi Farris and Kimberly Flowers, (front center) are flanked by Birmingham police officials and community leaders, to talk of their support for the Violence Reduction Initiative.

Birmingham mother Kimberly Flowers braces herself every time the phone rings, and does so for a good reason.

In the past six months, her 29-year-old son has been shot 10 times. "I'm the mother who hates to answer the phone,'' Flowers said. "You worry about your child."

Her son, whose name is not being released because he is still a target by those who want to harm him, was released from prison just over one year ago. Though he said he wanted to do better, trouble still followed him. The most recent shooting was the most serious - a gunshot wound to the face.

Flowers cried out for help. "My prayer was for somebody to hear my voice, just hear what I had to say,'' she said. "I prayed to God about it."

That's when officials with the Violence Reduction Initiative stepped in. Though some community activists have bashed the crime-reduction program's tactics in recent months, Flowers and another mother, as well as Central Pratt community leaders, came forward Wednesday to praise the VRI's efforts during a press conference at the Pratt City library.

Mt. Moriah Baptist Church pastor the Rev. Matthew Johnson said they decided to step up to discuss the VRI in an effort to deepen community understanding and appreciation for the "positive and productive measures taken by the VRI."

"Unfortunately, there are always those willing to avail themselves of challenging circumstances to advance personal, political agendas,'' Johnson said. "We are here to make sure that the voice and experience of the truly affected people does not get lost in the political shuffle."

The VRI, announced in Birmingham in June of 2015, is a joint effort by the Birmingham police, the Mayor's Office, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office and other community leaders. It works on the premise that readily identifiable groups of people commit the majority of homicides, shootings and other violent crimes. The program holds quarterly "call ins," which are meetings with the young men identified as high-risk for homicide. Influential community members and social service workers talk directly with the young men about the need for the violence to stop in hopes they will take that message back to the rest of their group members.

In addition to the "call-ins,'' authorities offer a variety of services and make home visits. The effort is multi-faceted, and includes both law enforcement and community components.

In January, a police operation, under the umbrella of VRI initiatives, targeting members of a violent street gang came under fire by neighborhood leaders in Central Pratt and Black Lives Matter activists, who described officers armed with machine guns and tanks storming Third Street. A 66-year-old grandmother at one of the homes raided was forced to the ground at gunpoint by one of the officers.

Birmingham police held a press conference to defend the operation, showing photos taken during weeks of surveillance that showed men outside brandishing assault rifles in the front yards.

At that same press conference, Christi Farris spoke and said it was her mother forced to the ground, and her 27-year-old son, a convicted felon, who was targeted in the raid. Farris on Wednesday said she felt her statements then were misunderstood.

"I was asking for help for my mom and son. Since that time, a lot has transpired,'' she said. "Unfortunately my voice was being heard as against the VRI but that was not my stand. My stand was, 'help.'''

Since that day, Farris said, the VRI has helped her son with GED training, job training and also helped to find him a job. She said her son has had a extensive background in behavioral issues, and health care with mental issues. "He is not an angel, but he is not a bad person,'' Farris said. "He has made some bad decisions and he paid for them. He did time in prison."

"I just don't want him to be a target because he's a convicted felon,'' she said. "There are some things he wants to change. He wants to become a good father, and he is a good son. I just don't want the mistakes of his past to dictate what his future will look like."

"He is excited. When he got out of prison in December, he wanted to do better,'' Farris said. "He doesn't want to feel like he's a disappointment and I think these programs will help him to get on the right path. "

. "I'm just here to promote peace,'' she said. "I'm holding everybody accountable for the promises made and, if this works out, it's going to be a very positive impact on not just the community and the neighborhood, but our youth as a whole."

Flowers said she feels the same way. When her son was shot for the 10th time, she spoke with West Precinct Capt. Paul Irwin, who in turn called Jarralynne Agee, director of the Birmingham Mayor William A. Bell's office of Violence Reduction, a position that is an outgrowth of the Violence Reduction Initiative.

"Dr. Agee contacted me and I've had all the support to save my child. I support the VRI 100 percent,'' she said. "They have been by our side every day. They sit at the hospital long hours by my son's side. We need this. We need the VRI. We can't let it go away. It means a lot for them to take this on and not judge your child."

Flowers said her son is in a protective rehabilitation facility, and 100 percent on board with what VRI wants to do in his life. He even sent a text message to Agee that read, in part, "I've cried till I can't anymore cause I'm blessed. I think when my health gets better, I wanna speak to young black males about violence."

Chris Nanni, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, attended Wednesday's press conference on VRI. "There's been a lot of false narrative put out there by people who don't really understand what it is and don't want to see it succeed. We find that frustrating because this is the most researched model, the most effective model that we know of,'' he said. "We really need the community support to make this successful, and there are people we have seen that just undermine it and we don't really understand why."

"We haven't really spoken out about it...we felt it was important particularly by families we feel have been unfairly identified or showcases as being wrongly affected by the Violence Reduction Initiative,'' he said. "When we talked to them, they were actually benefiting from it and we felt it was important to hear their voices. It's about keeping people safe, alive and out of prison and that's pretty difficult to argue against."