After a fatal December 2022 shooting in Bogalusa, Louisiana, Khlilia Daniels launched Forever Takes A Village to prevent youth gun violence and support grieving families. The group won a $250,000 subgrant through Equal Justice USA but lost the funding when the Department of Justice cut roughly $800 million in discretionary grants. Equal Justice USA later closed, and DOJ funding was reopened only to local governments, excluding grassroots groups. Despite setbacks and local political and fiscal pressures, Daniels continues outreach and community events while warning the progress is fragile.
Back at Stage One: Federal Funding Cuts Halt Grassroots Fight Against Gun Violence in Bogalusa, Louisiana
Khlilia Daniels, founder of Forever Takes a Village, poses for a portrait in Bogalusa, Louisiana.Photograph: Annie Flanagan/The Guardian
Before gunfire shattered the street outside her mother’s house, before partygoers fled in panic and before she recognised the body of a young man she had watched grow up, Khlilia Daniels decided Bogalusa had to change. That December 2022 shooting that killed 15-year-old Ronié Taylor propelled her to act.
From Bakery Owner To Community Defender
Daniels, who had opened a small bakery after leaving a charter-school job, founded Forever Takes A Village to address the social forces driving the town’s surge in gun violence. She organised support groups for grieving parents, hosted listening sessions with youth, and sought to build a local, sustained community violence intervention (CVI) program that would provide mentoring, after-school activities and job opportunities for young people.
Federal Support, Then A Sudden Reversal
With help from national advocates at Equal Justice USA, Daniels secured a $250,000 federal subgrant intended to hire staff, buy supplies and eventually open a youth centre. But in April, shortly after Donald Trump returned to the White House, the Department of Justice cut roughly $800 million in discretionary grants to organisations addressing gun violence, sexual assault, hate crimes and related issues. The cancellation included the funding for Daniels’s project; Equal Justice USA lost so much support it was forced to close.
"It felt like a light came on, and I knew what I needed to do," Daniels said after Ronié’s death. After the grant was cancelled she said: "We’re back at stage one."
What CVI Programs Aim To Do
Community violence intervention programs do not replace policing. Instead, they focus on the underlying needs that drive cycles of retaliation: youth centres, mentoring, employment, and mediation. Experts point to growing evidence that targeted CVI efforts can reduce shootings and save lives when they reach the highest-risk individuals in communities with sustained funding and professional staff.
Bogalusa’s Struggles
Bogalusa, a once-bustling sawmill town nicknamed the "Magic City," has seen population decline, persistent poverty (about one in three residents below the poverty line), and the loss of youth amenities such as the bowling alley and movie theatre. The local mill’s emissions sparked an EPA fine of $500,000 this year for Clean Air Act violations, adding to the town’s challenges.
The town recorded nine homicides in 2022, pushing its violent-crime rate to about 646.1 per 100,000 people—near double the national average. There were four homicides in 2023 and two each in 2024 and 2025 so far, according to police data. High-profile murders and unfamiliar violence have left families and neighbours reeling, and many of the victims were known personally to Daniels and other residents.
Local Politics, Legal Pressure And Fragile Progress
Local leaders cite a mix of enforcement, grassroots outreach and community will for recent declines in violence, but warn the progress is fragile. Mayor Tyrin Truong was arrested in a large drug-trafficking investigation and has pleaded not guilty. Louisiana’s fiscal review committee has appointed an administrator to oversee Bogalusa’s finances amid concerns about the city’s fiscal stability—factors that complicate long-term recovery.
The DOJ reopened CVI funding later in the year, but restricted eligibility to city, county and tribal governments and added a requirement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement—effectively excluding grassroots groups like Forever Takes A Village and many national partners that previously helped build local capacity.
What’s Next For Forever Takes A Village
Despite the loss of the grant, Daniels continues community efforts: medication take-back events, food and turkey distributions, and neighbourhood outreach. Forever Takes A Village is small but persistent, and its volunteers hope that new partnerships or future funding can restore momentum. Still, organisers warn that without steady resources, local prevention work risks starting over.
Key facts: a canceled $250,000 subgrant; Equal Justice USA’s closure; an $800 million reduction in DOJ discretionary grants; Bogalusa’s high violent-crime rate; an EPA fine against the local mill; and municipal instability tied to a mayoral arrest and state fiscal oversight.
