NEWS RELEASE

Readout of OJP and White House Community Violence Intervention Announcements

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brent J. Cohen headlined an event in Seattle last week commemorating the two-year anniversary of the launch of OJP’s Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative. OJP made its first investments in community violence intervention programs – a centerpiece of the President’s Safer America Plan and the Justice Department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime – in the fall of 2022.

Acting AAG Cohen was joined by the Director of the National Institute of Justice, Dr. Nancy La Vigne, Senior Advisor for Community Violence Intervention Eddie Bocanegra and OJP staff, as well as local, county and state leaders.

The day after the event, President Biden announced major new actions and investments designed to curb gun violence, including funding from OJP to support promising community violence intervention programs. In remarks delivered from the White House, the President highlighted a wide range of new actions to reduce gun violence and save lives, including $85 million in new awards under OJP’s Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative.

These new investments will support 26 community-based organizations and government-led collaboratives implementing community violence intervention strategies, as well as four intermediary organizations that will deliver federal funding and capacity-building support to smaller grassroots groups on the frontlines of violence. Funding will also support training and technical assistance and related research and evaluation projects to grow the evidence base around lifesaving violence intervention models.

“These local intervention programs stop shootings before they happen utilizing trusted messengers, community members, leaders who work directly with people at risk of or most vulnerable to gun violence,” said the President.

The Seattle event featured local leaders and organizations from King County, Washington, including Rachel Sottile, President and CEO of the Center for Children and Youth Justice, a Seattle-based non-profit dedicated to dedicated to supporting youth and strengthening communities. The center serves as a federal intermediary, awarding microgrant funding and providing capacity-building assistance to grassroots organizations throughout King County.

The line-up also included Shantel Patu, co-founder and Executive Director of Urban Family, one of the microgrant recipients working to tackle the systemic challenges associated with youth violence. The event followed a roundtable discussion with community violence intervention professionals and young people who serve as credible messengers to at-risk individuals in their communities.

With the new awards, OJP has awarded more than $272 million since 2022, including direct investments in more than 100 sites in 35 states nationwide. Funding comes, in part, from resources made available through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act signed by the President more than two years ago.

See below for a full list of FY 2024 grantees under OJP’s Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, which is jointly administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, National Institute of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, and Office for Victims of Crime.

Awards to Community-Based Organizations

Awards to Local Governments

Awards to State Governments

Awards to Capacity Building Intermediaries

Awards to Training and Technical Assistance Providers

Awards for Research and Evaluation

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OFFICE: OAAG
CONTACT: OJP Media at [email protected]