Escambia sheriff has a plan to reduce gun violence. Here's what's in store:

A dozen community leaders and elected officials have pledged to throw their weight behind a project to reduce gun violence in Brownsville.

On Wednesday, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons hosted his second gun violence roundtable. He asked as assemblage of county commissioners, Pensacola officials, state and law enforcement personnel, and other stakeholders to take action to end gun violence.

"Here's the deal — we've talked and we've heard, and we've talked and we heard not once but twice, and now we have to do something," Simmons said during the meeting.

Bellview homicide:'We cannot let the criminals win': Manhunt is on for Pensacola youth football game gunmen

First roundtable:Escambia County had 25 homicides already in 2022. Sheriff calls for community action.

Simmons kicked off the meeting by hearing from members of the community and hearing "success stories" from his peers around the table. He then asked everyone sitting at the roundtable if they were ready to take on a segmented project within the Brownsville area where each person would be responsible for making a change in that area.

Simmons said the easiest approach to help the community and curb gun violence is to work in segments throughout the county to prevent stretching resources too thin.

Since Brownsville is partially in the county and partially in the city, Simmons said he wanted Pensacola Police Chief Eric Randall and himself to work up crime stats for the area to find trends in the area and for the commissioners, city council members, state representatives and religious leaders to use their areas of expertise to change the community of Brownsville.

"We're all going in different directions, which isn't moving the needle," he told the roundtable. "Let's prove that we can come together and collaborate (and) we can bring what we need to to the table. You have all our resources."

Something Simmons plans to implement is a resource guide for parents with children who may need services for mental health, suicide, self-harm, dating violence or addiction after discovering "there's no guide" currently available to parents.

"We have one-stop shops for everything," Simmons said. "Why can't we have a one-stop shop or resource guide for our most valuable commodity — our children."

The sheriff then went around the table and asked if each person would commit to using their resources to implement some type of community outreach program or service in Brownsville.

"Absolutely, Chip," Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May said. "I'm all part of the team and we've already started some initiatives in Brownsville like infrastructure."

As the others sitting around the tables all committed to Simmons's plan to focus on Brownsville, Simmons set up the next roundtable in early March to begin implementing everyone's plans.

"We can probably (meet) by the first week of March," Simmons said. "We can have that meeting and at that meeting we'll have what each individual can bring to the table ... and in the meantime, I'm going to try working on this parent resource guide."

Simmons organized the first roundtable in October after a homicide during a youth football game in Bellview.

The attendees at Wednesday's meeting, all of whom committed to working with the sheriff on the issue, were:

• Pensacola Police Chief Eric Randall

• Commissioner Robert Bender

• Commissioner Mike Kohler

• Commissioner Lumon May

• Commissioner Jeff Bergosh

• City Council Vice President Delarian Wiggins

• State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden, First Judicial Circuit

• Greater Little Rock Baptist Church Pastor Lonnie Wesley III

• School Board member Kevin Adams

• Escambia County Administrator Wes Moreno

• Florida House Rep. Michelle Salzman

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia, Pensacola officials plan to reduce Brownsville gun violence