Editors note - After this story aired, the Portsmouth Police's crime dashboard updated to show London Oaks Apartments had a shooting on April 30, resetting the number.
One year ago, Dale Homes made a choice to change. Today — 365 days later — not a single shooting has happened in a neighborhood.
This milestone reflects on the efforts of community-based organizations, neighbors say.
Earl Jones grew up in the Dale Homes neighborhood. A moment of fear with his own family pushed him toward action.
"My girl and my kids were getting out of the car one day, and it was so much gunfire when I say, I ain't know what to do. I almost lost my mind," Jones said.
Jones is now part of Pivot4Peace 757, a community-based violence intervention team that works within the neighborhood.
"Boots on the ground, get in here and help mediate some of the situations. Talk to some of the young guys that I know that didn't grow up out here who might be at high risk of being shot or doing it, committing a crime," Jones said.
News 3 Portsmouth reporter Kamilah Williams previously spoke with Darrel Redmond, founder of Give Back 2 Da Block and member of Portsmouth United, who said the drop in crime is no accident.
"Violence is predictable, but it's also preventable," Redmond said. "When you are able to engage high-risk participants, those people that are at the highest risk to be shooters or to be shot, and engage them, offer them opportunities, then that's the start."
Watch previous coverage: Dale Homes reaches 300 days without violent crime as Portsmouth intervention groups drive change
Redmond says the progress extends beyond Dale Homes.
"It shows that the recipe works. It shows that the training that we've been given and the training that we continue to instill inside our team is useful," Redmond said.
Dale Homes is not the only neighborhood seeing results. According to Redmond, the same community-based model is being applied across Portsmouth. These numbers are from the Portsmouth Police Department's Crime and Gun Violence Dashboard, taken as of May 5, 2026. The data below shows the number of days without violent crimes, such as shootings.
- London Oaks — 204 days
- Southside — 160 days
- Prentis Park — 125 days
Redmond said the milestone is only the beginning.
"If we can go 365 days, we can go 730 days. And if we go 730 days, we can go 1,460 days," Redmond said.
Jovan Davis, a community-based violence intervention trainer, said the numbers reflect what happens when the right people are in place.
"If you have the right staff in the right communities working with the right people, and the right people are those who are at the highest risk of committing a crime or being involved in gun violence," Davis said.
For Jones, the impact is felt beyond what any dashboard can measure.
"Just being from the area, it feels great," Jones said.
The next step is bringing this model to other neighborhoods across the city, with community leaders calling on city and state officials to invest in what the data is already proving works.
Redmond's team operates with a targeted approach, working directly in Portsmouth neighborhoods during the hours when violence is most likely to occur.
"We have a team that works from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m., because that's the time that we know that violence is at its highest peak," he said.
"To be able to celebrate with our kids and stuff, to be out here, it feels great," Requan Faison, a lifelong Dale Homes resident, previously told News 3.
Faison knows better than most what this neighborhood has been through. He grew up in this neighborhood and carried the weight of its violence firsthand.
"I was shot out here eight times," he said.
Today, Faison is part of the solution. He now works alongside community violence intervention groups, using music as a tool to connect with and mentor at-risk youth in the neighborhood.
Watch related: Portsmouth police report a drop in violent crime but see a rise in thefts and fentanyl cases this year
Workforce development, mental health services, and youth programming are among the tools being deployed in these neighborhoods, with the goal of addressing root causes rather than just responding to crime after it happens.
Redmond's message to anyone on the sidelines: stop watching and start helping.
"The way to become a part of this solution is to jump on board," he said. "Come inside. Hear our pain."
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