Harkins, Merski: $1.54M secured to expand Erie County youth programs and violence-reduction efforts
Rep. Robert Merski April 15, 2026 | 4:39 PM
ERIE, April 15 – State Reps. Pat Harkins and Bob Merski, both D-Erie, are pleased to announce that four Erie County organizations have received more than $1.54 million in grants from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The funding will expand after-school and summer programming, provide mentoring and sports opportunities for hundreds of local youth, and support coordinated gun-violence reduction and domestic-violence response efforts across Erie County.
“This funding supports prevention and enforcement — from mentoring and tutoring to data-driven efforts to reduce gun violence and improve domestic-violence response,” Harkins said. “These partnerships will strengthen supports for victims and create more opportunities for our youth.”
Merski said, “These grants put proven prevention and intervention strategies into action across Erie County. Expanding safe, structured after-school opportunities and supporting coordinated public-safety efforts will help our young people succeed and make our neighborhoods safer.”
The lawmakers said the awards include:
- YMCA of Greater Erie — $493,286: Expand after-school Teen Center programming for 250 middle and high school students with arts, health, recreation, tutoring, mentorship, job-readiness and a multi-year evaluation with Penn State Behrend.
- Erie County District Attorney’s Office — $499,700: Continue the Gun Control Working Group and countywide Lethality Assessment Program to interrupt illegal gun possession, enhance investigations, and serve 600 high-risk individuals annually.
- Housing Authority of the City of Erie — $500,000: Launch an Erie PAL out-of-school site for youth in HACE housing (grades 3–12), starting with a 40-student pilot and expanding to 120, with tutoring, mentoring, recreation and police-community engagement.
- United Way of Erie County — $49,996: Launch Intro to Sports in partnership with the YMCA to serve 280 elementary students across 10 schools with weekly, six-week sports and skill-building sessions, scaling over three years.
The awards are part of the FY 2025–26 Violence Intervention & Prevention and Building Opportunities Through Out-of-School Time funding framework administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. BOOST grants are intended to expand out-of-school time programming for at-risk school-age youth and support evidence-based or evidence-informed practices delivered by community partners.