Boston Uncornered Project

Uncornered is a Boston-founded nonprofit working to end street violence by reducing shootings and homicides in cities. Its model seeks out the people it calls Core Influencers, those at the center of violence in a community, and offers them a different path through educational resources, mental health support, and spiritual support. The organization works street by street and corner by corner, using data and social network analysis to identify who to reach.

Founded in Boston in 2016, Uncornered has since expanded to Providence and Kansas City. In Boston it has also reached the public through the Boston Uncornered Photo Project, an exhibit of large black-and-white portraits by photographer John Huet shown on Seaport Common. The portraits feature Black Boston leaders from politics, sports, business, the military, and philanthropy, each telling of a time they felt cornered by racism, trauma, or doubt and how they overcame it.

What to Know

• About 84 percent of the organization’s expenses go directly to the Core Influencers it serves.
• Boston data shows each Core Influencer served saves Massachusetts an estimated $70,000 a year in incarceration and related costs.
• Uncornered is a grantee of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education.
• Past exhibit portraits included Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Enoch “Woody” Woodhouse II and program interns and students.
• The organization publishes an impact report on its results.