Allegheny County Commits $50 Million To Violence Reduction Initiative

PITTSBURGH, PA — Allegheny County is committing $50 million over the next five years on community violence reduction efforts. County Executive Rich Fitzgerald on Tuesday pledged a comprehensive and well-coordinated public health approach to that initiative.

The funding will be used for contracts resulting from Department of Human Services requests for proposals that sought evidence-based approaches to be implemented in highly impacted county communities outside of the city of Pittsburgh.

"With this financial commitment, we are approaching this issue broadly while also coordinating efforts to ensure that our approach is a comprehensive one," Fitzgerald said.

"Just as importantly, this effort is intended to be coordinated at the county level but implemented locally. The organizations receiving funding, and the people who do the work, are best suited to determine how to make an impact in their community.”

The Countywide Support for Violence Prevention program will be centrally operated and geared toward forming a broad strategy for combating violence. Contracts for crafting that cohesive effort have been awarded to:

• Neighborhood Resilience Project for countywide coordination.

• Social Contract for operation of shooting review boards in which relevant stakeholders come together regularly to determine why fatal and non-fatal shootings occurred, identify trends and use data for prevention and intervention efforts.

• Reimagine Reentry for hospital-based intervention in which trauma responders and outreach workers visit the bedsides of gunshot victims in hospital trauma centers to connect them to necessary services and attempt to prevent them from retaliating.

• Center for Victims, Community Empowerment Association for coordination of victim and family supports connecting gunshot victims and their loved ones to mental health services and survivor support groups.

The Community Violence Plan From High Priority Areas sought strategies aimed at reducing community violence in highly impacted municipalities outside of the city and will involve local organizations in communities where violence is common.

Those coordinating agencies include:

· Focus on Renewal (Stowe, McKees Rocks)

· Penn Hills School District

· South Pittsburgh Coalition for Peace (South Hilltop, Mount Oliver)

· Greater Valley Community Services (Woodland Hills School District – Braddock, East Pittsburgh, North Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, and Turtle Creek)

· Steel Rivers Council of Governments (Mon Valley – Clairton, Duquesne, Homestead, and McKeesport)

· Community Forge (Greater Wilkinsburg Area)