The Proposed Budget Includes More Than $1.8 Million Dedicated to Violence Intervention and Prevention Programs and Would Establish Gun Violence Prevention Grants
OLYMPIA, Wash. —The Washington chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and Students Demand Action, both a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, today applauded Governor Inslee for including funding for city gun violence prevention in his supplemental budget proposal. This funding would provide community-based organizations, nonprofits and municipalities with the resources they need to combat city gun violence in Washington.
“It’s heartening to see Governor Inslee prioritizing gun violence prevention for the coming year,” said Cause Haun, a volunteer leader with the Washington chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “We must do more to end gun violence in all its forms, and while Washington has become a leader when it comes to gun safety laws, there’s so much more we can do to help break the cycle of gun violence in South King County and Yakima County. We’re grateful Governor Inslee is taking city gun violence seriously and we look forward to working with the legislature to secure funding for violence intervention and prevention programs.”
“Like many young people, I’m part of the generation that grew up with lockdown drills in our schools,” said Jadyn Malone, a volunteer with the Spokane chapter of Students Demand Action. “And while it was school safety that drove me to the gun violence prevention movement, I soon learned that the majority of gun homicides are concentrated in our cities, and that mass shootings and school shootings make up only a fraction of our nation’s gun violence crisis. We must do more to break the cycle of violence in our cities, and this is a step in the right direction.”
Governor Inslee’s supplemental budget proposal includes $1.825 million in funding for evidence-based violence intervention and prevention programs. The proposed funding is targeted at programs in South King County and Yakima County, the counties with the highest rates of gun homicide in Washington. Specifically, the governor is looking to fund the following initiatives:
- Gun Violence Prevention Grants: $800,000, administered through the Office of Juvenile Justice, for a Gun Violence Prevention Grant Program to deliver services to youth at risk of being involved in gun violence in South King County and Yakima County.
- Shots Fired Program: $425,000, administered by the Department of Children, Youth and Families, for community-based violence intervention and prevention services to approximately 150 people who are the highest risk of being involved in gun violence in South King County.
- Group Violence Intervention Grants: $600,000, administered by the Department of Commerce, for implementation of Group Violence Intervention in Yakima County and South King County.
Research shows gun violence tends to be concentrated in American cities, disproportionately impacting communities of color. Violence intervention programs identify individuals who are at the highest risk of shooting or being shot to reduce violence through targeted interventions.
Nationally in 2019, Everytown, Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action volunteers worked closely with community partners on campaigns to increase state and local budgets for community-led violence intervention work and helped unlock a total of $64.7 million in funding.