Pennsylvania state Rep. Jason Dawkins (D-Philadelphia) speaks at the Northeast Frankford Boys & Girls Club where joined Lt. Gov Austin Davis to announce 46 grants totaling $11.6 million, under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) Building Opportunity through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) program. (Commonwealth Media Services)
Dozens of organizations across Pennsylvania will receive $56.5 million in state grants intended to reduce community violence with additional resources for afterschool programs.
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) School Safety and Security Committee, approved $45 million to provide Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Competitive Grants and Collaborative Community Violence Intervention (CCVI) Strategy Grants.
An additional $11.5 million in funding is going towards Building Opportunity through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) grants, which were created through a law Gov. Josh Shapiro signed in 2024. Those grants will go towards funding after school programs.
This PCCD funding was approved as a part of the 2024-2025 state budget.
“It takes a comprehensive approach to make our communities safer — we need to invest in law enforcement, but also community-based organizations that are doing the work on the ground, day in and day out, to reduce gun violence,” Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, who serves as chairperson of the PCCD, said in a statement. “It’s not enough to respond to gun violence when it happens; we need to prevent it.”“Our investments in Violence Intervention and Prevention grants — which received a $5 million increase in this year’s bipartisan state budget — are making a difference in so many communities,” he added. “We’re making progress here in Pennsylvania to reduce gun violence, but there’s still more work to be done.”
The Shapiro-Davis administration’s $56.5 million allotment for VIP grants is an increase from $40 million in the 2023-2024 budget.
State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) also lauded the VIP program, saying it’s important to make sure those on the front lines in communities working to stop gun violence have the resources they need.
“The recipients of these grants are bringing hope and life to communities and we’re seeing positive outcomes of that work. There’s been a 40% reduction in Philadelphia homicides,” Hughes said. “Their prevention efforts are one of the most effective ways to keep our communities safe and keep young people away from violence and crime.”
One of the recipients of the PCCD funding is HIAS Pennsylvania, a non-profit organization in the state that supports low-income immigrants through immigration legal services and other social services.
“With the support of PCCD funding, we’ve increased our capacity to offer more immigrant youth opportunities to thrive by helping them apply for legal status in the U.S,” said Stephanie Lubert, Grant Program Manager at HIAS Pennsylvania. “Our partnership with our subgrantees — La Puerta Abierta and Victim Witness Services of South Philadelphia — has allowed our services to reach vulnerable youth we otherwise may not have identified for help, such as an undocumented youth who was a victim of gun violence.”
Jamie J. Brunson, executive director of First Person Arts, said that the state funding will allow the organization to “bring its unique gun violence intervention to youth in safe spaces in and out of school time.”
“True stories from our documentary film, ‘Trigger’ — of individuals impacted by gun violence that chose to use those experiences to bring hope, help and healing to others — became a catalyst for open dialogue among youth about the many ripples of gun violence,” Brunson said. “Youth in areas with high gun violence and low behavioral health utilization developed and shared their own stories while exploring the journey from trauma to healing.”
At the Northeast Frankford Boys & Girls Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, Davis noted the $11.6 million in grants for after school programs, adding that it “takes more than police officers to make our communities safer.” Mental health, quality schools and workforce development programs are part of the equation also, he said.
“We need all those things so we can address the root problems of violence,” Davis said.
According to Davis, while the $11.6 million funded 46 grants in both urban and rural areas, the state received nearly 300 applications for grants that would have cost $65 million.
Davis was joined by Rep. Jason Dawkins (D-Philadelphia), who grew up in Frankford and attended the Boys & Girls Club. When he was 13 years old, his older brother, who had also attended the after-school program, was shot and killed.
“This was a safe haven for kids like myself,” Dawkins said. “And it’s important that we talk about gun violence as one of the metrics of why we want to have this funding in place.”
But Dawkins added that he would like to see even more funding in the future, citing the number of applicants that didn’t receive funds.
“We can’t just keep saying that the youth are our future,” Dawkins said. “We’re going to have to start writing the check to prove it.”