The Historic $8.2 Million Investment in Grant Funding for Community-Based Violence Intervention Is the Largest in State History
The New Jersey chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statement after Governor Phil Murphy and Acting Attorney General Bruck announced plans to allocate $7 million in American Rescue Plan funding to gun violence prevention measures. The investment will go towards gunshot detection technology and other law enforcement equipment to reduce gun violence in the state. In addition to the $7 million investment, Governor Murphy and Acting Attorney General Bruck also announced $8.2 million in grant funding for community-based violence intervention programming, the largest of its kind in the state’s history.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates once again that Governor Murphy and Acting Attorney General Bruck are committed to the safety of our communities,” said Lisa Blumenfeld, a volunteer with the New Jersey chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Violence interruption efforts like these are absolutely essential to curbing gun violence before it happens. We applaud our state leaders for taking this critical step toward making New Jersey safer from gun violence.”
The announced grant funding will support 25 violence intervention programs, covering 15 municipalities in every region of the state. This historic investment will support intervention strategies that provide alternatives to violence and embody a community-based public safety model. This funding will support community violence intervention programs like Paterson Healing Collective, an Everytown Community Safety Fund grantee, which identifies patients at risk of repeat violent injury and links them with hospital- and community-based resources aimed at addressing underlying risk factors for violence.
To assist state and local governments, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) into law in March of 2021, authorizing $350 billion in funding for governments to counter the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic. States, cities and counties can utilize ARP funds to counter surges in gun violence and support gun violence intervention programs performing essential public health work. More information on how New Jersey could use these funds is available here.
In an average year, 439 people die by guns in New Jersey, and 1,398 more are wounded. Gun violence costs New Jersey $3.4 billion each year, of which $200.1 million is paid by taxpayers. More information on gun violence in New Jersey is available here.