BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The fight against crime in Baltimore gets federal backup in the sum of $1.5 million. That money will help create and strengthen existing programs in the city.

Marcus Washington has more on what some community leaders are saying about the money.

People are happy that help is here, but one response we got Wednesday is it's not so much as to what or how much is given, but how it's utilized.

It's a city facing 282 homicides this year---seven within the past five days. Baltimore's crime is a personal reality for community activist Rev. Keith Bailey.

"There's a young man who sat on the steps with me, talking about he wants to make a change in life and two hours later, he's gone," Bailey said. "It's a pain, because I have seen these kids grow up in the neighborhood. They're not even old enough to see what the world is like and they're gone."

"We will not arrest our way out of this and my administration has consistently engaged in an all hands on deck approach to improving the lives of the citizens of Baltimore and reducing violence," said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

Wednesday morning, she was joined by local and federal agencies with the announcement of $1.5 million to fight crime in the city. The Department of Justice is issuing nearly a million dollars of that money, focusing on increasing engagement within the faith community by hiring an outreach coordinator with the Baltimore City Health Department, expanding work youth violence prevention and establishing a new program that will help plug gaps in services for black male survivors of violence by helping them deal constructively with the effects of trauma and victimization.

"This is especially critical as young men are the group most likely to be victims of violence, the least likely to receive appropriate services and untreated trauma can leave long-lasting damage on a young person's development and future behavior," said Robert Listenbee, Department of Justice.

"It has to be budgeted right, whatever program [receives the funds] to help. That is what I am seriously worried about, how it's going to be given out," Bailey said.

The Department of Health and Human Services also received $175,000 specifically for the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood.