When Robyn Lake Hamilton, president and CEO of Urban League of Central Carolinas (ULCC), spoke at Charlotte City Council’s public forum on Jan. 13, minutes after a presentation from CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings saw council members frustrated with recent crime stats, she was surprised nobody had asked about her work.
It was city council, after all, that funded and assigned ULCC to spearhead the latest Alternatives to Violence program (ATV) along the Nations Ford Road corridor in June 2023. In the time since, Hamilton said her team is making progress in its efforts to detect and interrupt conflicts, identify and manage high-risk individuals, and change group norms around violence.
“While it’s true that Charlotte, like many other cities, has experienced an increase in homicides, we are seeing encouraging signs of progress within the Alternatives to Violence Program,” Hamilton told council.
The neighborhood has been plagued with gun violence in recent years, contributing to a bad reputation among residents and city leaders. In 2024, Queen City Nerve tracked 12 murders in the area bordered by East Arrowood Road, Nations Ford Road, Archdale Drive and South Boulevard, including three homicides in December alone. As of Oct. 25, 2025, we had tracked just two in that same area this year.
For Hamilton, a lack of resources presents an opportunity for the program to work directly with neighborhood residents and get them what they need. The historic disinvestment in Nations Ford drives her work at ATV.
“[That] is why we want to start doing a lot more,” Hamilton said, “so the violence doesn’t start as opposed to having to respond in a reactive way.”
