Governor Wolf Announces $23 Million for Round Two of the Violence Prevention and Intervention Grants Program

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. – Governor Tom Wolf today announced $23 million in funding for 25 projects that will create local strategies to end gun and mob violence across Pennsylvania. The grants are part of the Violence Prevention and Intervention (VIP) grant program administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD).

“With every life lost to gun violence, we lose a significant part of our future. These irreplaceable losses tear our communities apart,” Governor Wolf said. “Tackling gun violence at the root, community and neighborhood level is essential. These organizations funded today are changing and saving lives.

According to the CDC, gun deaths hit an all-time high in 2020 with more than 45,000 Americans killed by firearms. With communities in Pennsylvania also seeing an increase in shootings and gun violence, Governor Wolf pledged to address this crisis. Based on a recommendation from the Special Council on Gun Violence, created by executive order in 2019, Governor Wolf has prioritized investing in community gun violence prevention efforts through the VIP program.

In December, Governor Wolf funded $15.7 million for 40 projects. Funding for this second round of grants was increased last week, with an additional $15 million in US bailout dollars committed to the program.

VIP grants provide funding to local organizations for a wide range of programs focused on community violence reduction, including street outreach and violence disruption programs using credible messengers; Safe Corridors/Safe Passages programs, which prevent incidents to/from school and other community centers; provide referrals to partner agencies focused on meeting participants’ basic needs, including education, employment, health, and other services; comprehensive pre-release and reintegration programs for returning citizens; trauma-informed approaches to support victims and survivors of armed violence; as well as youth activities and mentoring.

Allegheny County

Allegheny County Community College$800,000 to develop a program to reduce rates of gun violence among youth in the city of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, providing social and mental health services, transportation to and from development programs workforce and mentoring opportunities.

HOPE Foundation$1,300,000 to support the implementation of an aftercare program with trained peer support specialists and mental health therapists to support those negatively impacted by the criminal justice system in an effort to break the cycle incarceration and armed violence in marginalized communities.

Healthy Village Learning Institute$150,000 to support the implementation of intensive community outreach that will train and prepare violence responders to engage directly with residents and educate them on how to respond to community violence.

Berks County

Berks Community Action Program$600,000 to support a community-based youth outreach initiative that aims to fight poverty and engage youth in positive social and educational activities with the goal of reducing and eliminating gang involvement and gun violence.

Delaware County

Delaware County Attorney$2,000,000 to support the District Attorney’s Group Violence Intervention Program in the City of Chester and support other violence prevention efforts throughout the county.

Create a change group$149,072 to enhance its current violence intervention program which aims to serve youth victims of gun violence and their families, and to proactively mentor youth.

Philadelphia County

African Family Health Organization (AFAHO)$498,278 to support the implementation of a Safe Havens and Mentorship Program, a pilot violence intervention and prevention program for African and Caribbean immigrant and refugee boys and young men in the greater Philadelphia area.

Philadelphia Anti-Violence Partnership$1,371,489 to expand its counseling center and youth violence awareness initiative to serve more Philadelphians in areas hardest hit by gun violence.

Philadelphia Children’s Hospital$1,119,262 to support the continuation and expansion of its hospital-based violence intervention program, which includes intensive case management, mental health therapy and peer-led psychoeducational peer groups.

City of Philadelphia$2,000,000 to expand the city’s Group Violence Intervention Strategy that uses law enforcement and social services to engage those most at risk of becoming involved in gun violence.

Concilio De Organizaciones Hispanas – El Concilio, $475,000 to support the establishment of shelter services for 250 young adults. They will integrate gun violence prevention interventions that address economic inequalities through workforce development training, support services and economic opportunity.

CORA Services- Inc, $726,432 to implement a two-tiered program that mitigates gun and group violence by empowering neighborhoods with high numbers of assaults to resolve conflict using mediation, restorative justice and community dialogue.

Education Culture Opportunities Foundation (ECO)$150,000 to support youth and young adult workforce development initiatives to help them manage their emotions, actions, power, energy and improve their conflict resolution skills.

EducationWorks (PowerCorpsPHL)$2,000,000 to provide innovative paid work experiences and support services that lead to career-pathing jobs for young Black and Latinx Philadelphians who face barriers to quality employment related to court attendance, lack of post-secondary education and work experience and the effects of poverty.

Father’s Day Rally Committee, $75,000 to support the implementation of the Fathers on a Mission program to provide support to fathers who lose loved ones to gun violence. The program will provide skills and tools to overcome trauma allowing them to create interaction with their family and community members to share their experience.

Umoja House$150,000 to support the implementation of a multi-level youth leadership and awareness initiative that creates a violence-free zone in the Carroll Park community.

Impact Services$1,500,000 to launch an anti-violence program that links to its existing community engagement and workforce development programs.

North Central Victim Services$481,019 for a Positive Alternatives to Trauma and Healing program that will target youth ages 14-24 and their families living in the Strawberry Mansion and Kensington communities who are at risk of experiencing trauma by promoting positive alternatives to violence .

Opportunity Industrialization Center (OCI)$1,393,106 to support the expansion of its Reintegration Services program to help adults 25 and older who were previously incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system and released from prison within 180 days of enrolling in the program .

Philadelphia Department of Public Health$719,019 to support a new citywide collaboration of hospital-based violence intervention programs.

Temple University Hospital Trauma Department$961,500 to support the implementation of the Comprehensive Response to Violence project, a hospital-based violence intervention program that will aim to mitigate the effects of community violence.

University of Pennsylvania – Penn Injury Science Center & Penn Trauma$1,267,032 to develop and evaluate a Collective Impact Partnership to support evidence-based, community-engaged violence prevention in West/Southwest Philadelphia.

Lehigh County

Lehigh Valley Hospital$1,992,079 to expand its Cure Violence program in Allentown to other eastern Pennsylvania communities.

Lucerne County

Lucerne County$363,565 to support the pursuit of the Luzerne County Gun Violence Reduction Task Force.

York County

York County Commissioners$2,000,000 to support continued collaborative violence prevention and reduction programs focused on identifying at-risk youth, linking with substance use disorders, mental health, mentoring and services community.

More information on the specific VIP projects awarded today, as well as PCCD’s efforts to combat gun violence in general, can be found under the Gun Violence tab on the website www.pccd.pa.gov .

MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Rementer, [email protected], 717-783-1116

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