Delco Orgs. Awarded $3M in Grant Funds

MEDIA – A collaborative of Delaware County organizations formed to respond to, as well as prevent, youth violence in Chester has been awarded $3 million from the Coordinated Community Violence Intervention (CCVI) Strategies Pilot Grant Program by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency.

The Coordinated Community Violence Intervention (CCVI) Pilot Program is a new initiative focused on increasing local coordination and collaboration to more effectively prevent, intervene, and respond to gun and group violence. All programming will be focused on reducing gun violence among youth and young adults ages 11-24 in the City of Chester.

The Delaware County collaborative includes: CASA Youth Advocates as the lead organization; Chester Education Foundation, which will provide youth workforce development and enhance Delcoresources - a database of services and resources; Making a Change Group and Chester Community Coalition, which will take the lead on school-based and hospital-based interventions, respectively; Boys and Girls Club of Chester and Crozer Health Trauma Program, which will offer prevention education programming; and Widener University, which is currently conducting a city-wide community needs assessment.

The Safer Schools Stronger Neighborhoods collaborative will approach its work through an ecological public health approach to the issue of violence, i.e. addressing social determinants of health to treat violence at its roots and reduce its risk of occurrence. The collaborative also benefits from community support from the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, the Delaware County Public Defender’s Office, Chester Upland School District, and Chester Community Charter School.

“Chester Community Coalition is honored to be a part of this important collaborative in the City of Chester to interrupt gun violence,” said Alexia Clarke, Executive Director of Chester Community Coalition, “No one organization can tackle this work alone. It takes funding, cooperation, and system change, as well as the support of individuals and families in the City of Chester to beat gun violence after years of underinvestment. We are relieved to see this support for our work that promotes peace and healing.”

“This funding arrives at a critical time for children and youth,” says Leigh Anne McKelvey, the Executive Director of CASA Youth Advocates serving Delaware and Chester counties, “By treating and working to prevent violence in young people directly affected by it, instilling foundational skills, and addressing underlying causes of youth violence, the Safer Schools Stronger Neighborhoods coalition can transform the future for so many children and families, creating a more secure, resilient, and healthy community.”

Lee Awbrey and Danielle Hibberd, co-chairs of the Delaware County Reentry Coalition added, “Incarceration is aimed at addressing individual acts of violence, but does not reach the community spread of violence that can spring from those acts and can often perpetuate its own cycle of harm. This inclusive, localized approach is what will help their tactics of violence disruption to succeed.”

“I know firsthand the devastating impact that gun violence has had on our learning community,” said Chester Upland School District Superintendent Dr. Craig Parkinson. “CUSD is looking forward to serving as a collaborative partner as we work to better our community.”

The Safer Schools Stronger Neighborhoods collaborative is currently in the planning stages, and is looking to hire a Community Violence Intervention Coordinator to provide full-time support to the project. For information regarding the position, including a position description and qualifications, visit https://ideali.st/Dtwogv

###