Renew Birmingham Aims to Curb Violence, Connect Neighbors

By  Alaina Bookman | abookman@al.com This is another installment in Birmingham Times/AL.com/CBS42 joint series “Beyond the Violence: what can be done to address Birmingham’s rising homicide rate.” Sign up for the newsletter here. Gerrel Jones, executive director of Renew Birmingham, said he is putting the neighbor back in neighborhood by empowering residents to give back. Renew Birmingham is a faith-based organization that revitalizes underserved communities, primarily Ensley, by connecting residents to resources and services while empowering them to help themselves through community service. Renew offers residents mental health resources, transportation services, groceries, educational and career opportunities. In exchange, Renew asks residents to contribute volunteer hours to local projects. “Community has to be a collaborative effort, there has to be an investment, a desire for people to invest in one another,” Jones said. In 2012, Jones was released from prison and got to work becoming the change he wanted to see in his community. “My story involves having become a drug addict, a violent criminal, committing a homicide, spending a big sentence in prison and then spending 20 years looking inward. I built communities in prison, because I realized I was going to die there and it was up to me...