A preacher says he will continue to expand his anti-violence outreach work this year and hopes to get Government support to do so.Scott Smith, who is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist church, met with Premier Paula Cox last April to discuss the spate of gangland shootings terrorising the Island.He has prayed with many of the families affected by the outbreak of gun violence that’s claimed 17 lives since 2009 and worked in prisons and schools to combat gang violence.He wants to be able to give up his painting business and continue his outreach work on a full-time basis, preferably with the backing of Government, but has not been able to achieve that goal since last year’s meeting.“During the meeting with the Premier she was happy to see I was so enthused about bringing about a change. I was targeting the schools and prisons. I believe I have the gift to encourage people onto a good path,” he said.“I presented a proposal to her to support what I was doing. They have consultants that come in to help Government but they are supported financially.“I was looking for financial support. It wasn’t a case of me trying to get some money out of this; it’s that I’m so passionate about helping I want to put my all into that. In order to do that I wouldn’t have my day job.“They said they would consider supporting me.”Mr Smith said Ms Cox tried to put him in contact with people to assist him in his goals, and while he has not achieved them yet, he is going to “work to that” in the new year.In the meantime, however, he is disappointed that people who offered to help his community efforts after media coverage last year failed to carry through with their pledges.He asked for church members to join him in knocking on every door in Bermuda to spread the message of peace.“I called on the churches to come together and people called me to say they were willing to come out,” he said. However, they failed to follow through on their good intentions.He continues to believe that active community engagement with would-be gangsters through Bible studies and prayer groups is the best chance of saving them from a life of violence.“There are a lot of churches doing these things but the unity is important,” he said.