McNeill: To address gun violence, state invests $1.9 million
Funding part of $23 million allocated to 25 projects across PA
Rep. Jeanne McNeill January 28, 2022 | 9:51 AM
HARRISBURG, Jan. 28 -- State Rep. Jeanne McNeill, D-Lehigh, today announced that the state has awarded nearly $2 million in funding to Lehigh Valley Hospital and its collaborating partner Promise Networks of the Lehigh Valley to advance the Cure Violence program in Allentown and communities across eastern Pennsylvania. The grant is part of the Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
“This funding will aid our community in addressing issues relating to and involving gun violence,” McNeill said. “The ability to have the proper funding, tools and programs in place enables our region to intervene, reduce the inclination for violence and potentially save countless lives. This sort of investment here in Lehigh County aids in ensuring safer communities and helps foster positive change for the entire commonwealth.”
McNeill explained that VIP grants provide funding to local organizations for a wide range of programs focused on reducing community violence, including street outreach and violence interruption programs utilizing credible messengers; Safe Corridors/Safe Passages programs, which prevent incidents to/from school and other community centers; providing referrals to partner agencies focused on meeting basic needs of participants, including education, employment, health and other services; comprehensive pre-release and reentry programs for returning residents; trauma-informed approaches to support victims and survivors of gun violence; as well as youth activities and mentorship.
According to McNeill, this is one of 25 projects aimed at creating local strategies to stop gun and group violence across the state. The project will expand an existing collaboration between the LVH Trauma Center and the PNLV Zero Youth Violence Team to build relationships with people who are immersed in and struggling with violence, intervene during the crisis of hospitalization, decrease retaliatory violence and promote norm changing messages of anti-violence.
More information about the program is available at this link: https://www.pccd.pa.gov/criminaljustice/GunViolence/Pages/default.aspx.