PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday announced more than $100 million in new funding for community groups working to curb gun violence across the commonwealth.
The governor made the announcement from Mander Playground in North Philadelphia, one of many neighborhoods that have seen firsthand the toll of rapidly rising gun violence in the city over the last two years.
“Reducing gun violence has to be a top priority for all of us. It is for me,” Wolf said. “Our children deserve safety.”
Since gun violence began surging at the start of the pandemic, Philadelphia officials have asked the governor and the Republican-controlled state Legislature to do more to help address the crisis in the city.
Mayor Jim Kenney, who is at a conference in Canada this week, has said Philadelphia is hamstrung by the Legislature, which in 1994 passed a law prohibiting the city from passing gun control measures that are stricter than the state’s.
Wolf, a Democrat whose term ends in January, expressed similar frustration during his visit Wednesday.
“Let me state from the outset: It’d be easier if we had a majority in both chambers or even just one chamber,” the governor said. “But we don’t have that.”
The grants the governor announced won’t only go toward addressing gun violence in Philadelphia; any community organization, municipality, college, or district attorney in Pennsylvania can apply. However, most of the state grants awarded for gun violence prevention in 2021 went to groups in Philadelphia, according to state data.
“These moneys are not going to somebody out there who is studying sort of the abstract, academic issues,” Wolf said. “These are folks working on the ground in the communities that know exactly what is going on. They can support a wide range of programs to address community violence.”
Of the $100.5 million newly available, $88.5 million will be awarded through a competitive grant program in which eligible organizations will receive $25,000 to $2.5 million to use on community violence and prevention work for more than two years. The size of the grant will be dependent on the organization’s size, as well as the area served and the range of services provided, officials said.
The rest of the funding will be allocated through a pilot grant program that provides up to $3 million apiece to five to eight organizations that plan to launch new programs to prevent and respond to violence.
The deadline for the competitive grants program is Oct. 12, while applications for the pilot program are open through Oct. 31. Groups can apply at pccd.pa.gov.
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