‘I have blood in this.’ A former drug dealer will try to help curb Charlotte violence
Belton Platt served 21 years in prison for drug-related offenses and lost three sons to gun violence. Now the drug dealer-turned-community activist will be entrusted to help curb violence in Charlotte.
City and Mecklenburg County officials contracted with Youth Advocate Programs Inc. who hired Platt, 57, to supervise the new Alternatives to Violence, and he says all the tribulations in his life brought him to this point.
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“I have blood in this,” Platt said during his introductory news conference at the Government Center on Tuesday. “I’m ready!”
ATV is an interrupter program led by community members from violence-stricken neighborhoods that trains them to intercede before violence happens and to help prevent recurrences.
The program, which will cost the city and county $500,000 to implement for the year, will launch on Aug. 14 along the Beatties Ford Road corridor, said Federico Rios of the city’s Office of Equity, Mobility and Immigrant Integration.
Violent crime increased 15% in 2020, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police recorded 121 homicides — one shy of tying 1993’s record of 122. Through June 30, 2021, CMPD recorded 50 homicides — one less compared to last year’s 51 at this same time.
The program will begin along Beatties Ford Road and LaSalle Street because it’s one of four areas CMPD identified as a hot spot for violent crime in 2020.
“We’re here today to start a new era of safety and security on the Beatties Ford Road corridor,” said City Council member Larken Egleston, who chairs the Safe Communities.
‘Faith, hope and love’
Platt, who went by the nickname “Money Rock,” said everybody wanted him of the streets of Charlotte because of things he did in his past life.
“I believe people can change,” said Platt, who held up a 2018 Observer features section that included a story about his biography. “I believe faith, hope and love will make the difference.”
Two violence interrupters and two outreach workers will work with Platt.
“These positions that we have, we are putting our lives at stake, but it’s worth it if we can stop one murder and stop one kid from going the wrong way,” he said.
Platt and his team completed violence interrupter training courses through Cure Violence and YAP. Cure Violence is a nonprofit that has implemented its metric-based violence interrupter model in other U.S. cities, including Milwaukee and Chicago. The organization received $390,000 in 2020 to partner with Charlotte to implement their anti-violence program for a year, the Observer previously reported.
Platt will be paid an annual salary of $43,000, while the outreach coordinators and violence interrupters will earn $36,000 a year, Ryanne Persinger of Youth Advocate Programs, told the Observer.
“We cannot do this alone,” Platt said. “It’s going to take all of Charlotte to make a difference.”
This story was originally published August 3, 2021 at 6:14 PM.
