Big Slice Of $28M To Combat Gun Violence Coming To The HV: Hochul

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Three Hudson Valley cities are among seven cities in the state that will share in a massive state investment in gun violence prevention.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday that $28 million will be made available to assist seven cities, including Mount Vernon, Yonkers, Newburgh, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, to combat gun violence.

This funding is being released through Project RISE (Respond, Invest, Sustain and Empower) to provide community-based organizations in each of the cities to empower neighborhoods disproportionately affected by gun violence and improve public safety.

Up to $2 million will be used to support mentoring, mental health services, restorative practices, community trust building, employment and education support, and youth development activities, among other programs and services that address trauma resulting from long-term exposure to violence, build resilience and strengthen youth, families and neighborhoods.

The organizations will receive technical assistance from Office of Youth Justice staff to develop a plan detailing how the funding will be distributed.

In addition, $2 million in capital funding is being made available in each of the cities to support violence prevention services and safer neighborhoods.

"The scourge of gun violence requires bold investments on multiple fronts, and by investing in local organizations through Project RISE we will help meet each neighborhood's needs, address local challenges, and provide effective, sustainable solutions," Hochul said. "This funding and these partnerships will improve, enhance and expand the State's comprehensive response to gun violence in each of these cities, helping address the root causes of gun violence and create safer neighborhoods for all New Yorkers."

Lt. Gov. Delgado joined elected, community and law enforcement leaders at the Boys & Girls Club of Mount Vernon on Monday morning to highlight New York's investment in Project RISE to address the increase in shootings and firearm-related homicides since the beginning of the pandemic. Developed and administered by the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), Project RISE allows local stakeholders in each of the cities to develop a comprehensive plan for funding that addresses the unique needs of their neighborhoods.

"The proliferation of guns flooding our communities, coupled with pandemic era rises in mental health, have resulted with increases in gun related violence, and trauma in our communities across the country," Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard said. "This crucial funding provides our smaller nonprofits the ability to build out their administrative capacity and allow them to work with us on driving down crime. We are thankful to Governor Hochul and Lt. Governor Delgado that communities impacted the most by these issues are on the frontline of funding to help fight back against crime."

While gun violence in these seven communities and 13 others that participate in New York's Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative decreased in January through August of this year when compared to 2021, it has not yet declined to pre-pandemic levels.

DCJS Commissioner Rosado and staff from the DCJS Office of Youth Justice hosted community listening sessions and workshops in all of the seven cities this past summer in order to learn from residents and representatives of community-based organizations, schools, local government and law enforcement, about current programming, gaps to services, barriers to access and the challenges they face when trying to address the long-term impact of violence.

Following those summer meetings, the Office of Youth Justice staff worked with local residents and stakeholders to establish a Project RISE Steering Committee, for fostering ongoing collaboration, identifying programs and services for funding, and implementing their city's plan to meet the program's goals:

• Build a local community's capacity to implement and sustain programming to address the underlying factors contributing to violence in the community.
• Enhance responses to violence within the community through increased community partnerships and programming with a healing and equity lens.

"We have seen too many young lives cut short by gun violence in cities across the nation including Yonkers," Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said. "Today’s announcement is a positive step in our mission to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to reduce and stop gun-related crimes,"

DCJS used a data-driven approach to identify the seven initial Project RISE communities, analyzing demographics and poverty data for each of the cities as outlined in the American Community Survey, in addition to violent crime and shooting data reported to the state by each city's police department.

"I owe a large debt of gratitude to Governor Kathy Hochul as the Mayor for the city of Newburgh," Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey said. "This Project RISE grant for seven cities which includes Newburgh NY is yet another example of how keen our Governor is on listening to the voices of the people who cry out for real solutions to gun violence & mental health issues and a myriad of social/economic issues being faced on the ground in real time."

Governor Hochul secured $227 million in the state's Fiscal Year 2023 Budget to fund Project RISE and other initiatives administered by DCJS to strengthen gun violence prevention efforts of both law enforcement and community-based organizations.

The initiatives include:

• $20.9 million for SNUG and community-based gun violence initiatives.
• $18.2 million for law enforcement agencies that participate in NYS's Gun Involved Violence Elimination initiative.
• $15 million for New York's ten Crime Analysis Centers.
• $20 million in law enforcement technology grants.

The budget also includes an additional $10 million to support body-worn cameras, as well $20 million in pre-trial services funding to all counties outside of New York City.