Despite the designation as a deadly neighborhood, Ross said, "residents and the community stakeholders there, we have been doing the best we could to try to keep things going in McElderry Park." The simple fact that the community was awarded the grant is a testament to the active local community. Priorities and projects—which were decided by a committee of residents—focused on targeting the root causes of the crime they saw regularly through workforce development, youth and mentoring programs, and environmental improvements.