Senator Hughes speaks at Violence Prevention News Conference

Philadelphia − December 9, 2021 – As a record-breaking year for violence heads to a close, Senator Sharif Street joined Sen. Vincent Hughes and Senator Haywood to call for Pennsylvania to invest more of a $7 billion surplus in local efforts to stop the surge. Leaders of local organizations joined them, asking for more help from the state after $140 million in grant applications were denied due to lack of funding.

“We have a constitutional mandate to keep communities safe. We’ve been able to move some money, but the need greatly outweighs the allotted funds. We can fund these programs fully. This includes law enforcement, sports leagues, and community violence interrupters who continue to call for more help.” 

Senator Hughes echoed the same call to action and stressed, “We have the manpower, and we have the money. Failure to invest in these neighborhood-based organizations, like the failure to invest in schools, housing and jobs, will result in tragedy for more families.”

On Dec. 1, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency awarded $15.7 million in violence prevention grants while saying another $8 million will be announced early next year.  The grant program, however, received more than $170 million in requests from community groups who provide violence prevention and mitigation work in local neighborhoods. Recipients of this latest round in the Third Senate District include:

Grant recipients for the latest PCCD funding in the Third Senate District include:

  • Women Against Abuse (Philadelphia’s Collaborative Response for Survivors) STOP Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Funds – $375,000
  • Students Run Philly Style (Going the Distance Program) Federal Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Funds – $91,017
  • Pennsylvania DMC Corporation (PA DMC Youth and Law Enforcement Engagement) Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention – $250,000
  • Philadelphia City Treasurer (Philadelphia Juvenile Racial Equity Specialist) Federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Funs $149,000
  • Philadelphia Children’s Alliance (PCA Maintenance Program) Children’s Advocacy Center Funds$47,000     –   TOTAL $913,007

Senator Street is calling for the state to release another $1 Billion over a period of three years ($333M annually) to meet the fiscal needs of stakeholders across PA working to keep communities safe. In October he convened the bipartisan PA Crime Prevention Caucus to engage stakeholders across PA to assess and meet the fiscal challenges of keeping communities safe.