The Eastern District of Virginia has more than $500,000 in grant funding available to help fund programs that may help reduce violent crime in the Commonwealth. The funding is available through Project Safe Neighborhood, or PSN.
“Addressing violence requires an all-hands effort,” said Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Communities that work closely together are more successful in driving down violent crime rates. Prevention, intervention and enforcement go hand in hand to tackle the root causes of violent crime. PSN grant funding is an important resource in a strategy that assists communities and neighborhoods to work together.”
Since 2022, local organizations in EDVA have received more than $750,000 in PSN grant funding.
The last two years of PSN recipients include the following:
- Project Safe Alive and Free supports a group violence intervention effort in Hopewell and the surrounding Tri-Cities area that pairs community violence intervention methods and intense life coaching with a trauma-based violence intervention program
- Parents Against Bullying Virginia facilitates anti-bullying programs in the Newport News public school system including “Girl & Gent Talk” group sessions with at-risk youth and the STAR Bright Kidz Puppet program
- The City of Richmond RVA League for Safer Streets focuses on prevention and intervention for young individuals who may be susceptible to or involved in gangs by facilitating a midnight basketball league where youth are engaged in workshops on topics such as conflict resolution
- Ballistic IQ technology for the police departments of the cities of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Hampton
- A three-year research grant on the impact of effectiveness of group violence intervention by the George Mason Center for Evidence-Based Policy
- Real Life group violence intervention and services for individuals making re-entry into the community from correctional facilities
The goals to reduce violent crime include:
- Engage, collaborate, and invite community stakeholders to share responsibility in efforts to reduce violent crime
- Build trust between law enforcement and the community through effective communication, regular interaction, and the support and protection of crime victims
- Reduce accessibility and possession of handguns among minors
- Reduce re-offending and break the cycle of re-victimization
- Disrupt and dismantle the region’s most organized and violent gangs
- Identify chronic violent offenders responsible for a disproportionate level of violent crime
- Work with citizens in neighborhoods most impacted by violent crime on harm reduction strategies
Applying for a PSN grant
Grant assistance for programs that support the PSN goals is available through the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services website.
Applications must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on May 29.
The PSN grant committee is currently prioritizing three regions impacted most by violent crime – Richmond, Newport News, and Norfolk.
However, the committee will evaluate grant applications from across the Eastern District. The EDVA includes four divisions in Alexandria, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News, encompassing more than 19,000 square miles and serving a population of over six million residents in Virginia.
Applicants submitting a grant may apply for funds between $25,000 and $200,000.
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Crystal Graham
