MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- At a church on Milwaukee's north side Tuesday morning, a group of Milwaukee leaders gathered with the words "The Count Down" printed on their shirts. 

They were there to announce a new violence prevention strategy called "This is Our City: The Count Down." 

CBS 58

"We want Milwaukee to know that violence is not inevitable," said Karin Tyler, director of the Department of Community Wellness and Safety. "And nobody has to sit on the sidelines waiting for change."

The department has identified more than two dozen areas in Milwaukee with the highest concentration of violence. They call them "clusters."

"The Count Down" is an effort to direct more resources and services to those specific clusters.

"We know that people are doing this work," said Julien Phifer, Department of Community Wellness and Safety program manager. "What this is calling for is a more coordinated mobilization of those efforts... we're asking people to bring what you do, what you're already doing, to where it can have the greatest impact."

Murders and non-fatal shootings are down in Milwaukee so far this year, according to police data. 

The goal of "The Count Down" is to - as Mayor Johnson puts it - "sustain that momentum."

CBS 58