Yesterday, Everytown, Moms Demand Action, Students Demand Action and their partners hosted a webinar for local groups and city leaders to discuss how CalVIP has helped to reduce gun violence in California’s communities, teach city and local leaders about the types of programs that can apply for grant funding, and review the current open Request for Proposal (RFP) process and upcoming application deadlines.
The California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) grant program is a state program designed to improve public health and safety by supporting effective violence reduction initiatives in communities that are disproportionately impacted by violence. Since 2018, CalVIP grants have been used to support, expand and replicate evidence-based violence reduction initiatives. Communities that received CalVIP grants during the 2018 cycle saw homicides decrease nearly three times more than those that did not receive CalVIP support.
In 2021, the California legislature approved over $200 million over the next three years to eligible cities and community based organizations to fund violence intervention programs. Despite this funding stream, more than 50% of eligible localities did not apply for CalVIP funding in 2020. For 2022, the number of eligible cities has significantly increased, resulting in new funding opportunities for local violence intervention in more communities across the state.
California gun violence has continued to rage in 2021. Recent shootings of teenagers in Wilmington and Boyle Heights only emphasize the importance of increased and sustainable CalVIP funding and gun violence prevention in the upcoming session.
For years, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers have been advocating for violence intervention groups to get adequate funding through the CalVIP grant. Now they are working to make sure these programs have all the resources they need to apply and receive that funding.
More about California gun violence is available here. If you are interested in learning more about the importance of violence intervention programs or our event, please don’t hesitate to reach out.