PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 16, 2021— DA Larry Krasner and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Community Engagement team today were honored to announce the awarding of the greatest number of violence prevention grants given to community-based groups to-date by the DAO since the office’s violence prevention funding initiative began in May of this year. Today’s round of grant funding totals $254,400. The recipients are as follows:
Greater Hope Ministries, Inc. teaches leadership skills to Philadelphia youth while working to address poverty, substance-use disorder, and violent crime. Greater Hope Ministries is awarded $48,400.
Amandla, Inc. uses sports and education as tools of empowerment for youth, while creating safe spaces for them in low-income communities. Amandla is awarded $10,000.
Committed Community Mentors (CCM) uses evidence-based mentorship practices to support youth and young adults in Philadelphia. CCM is awarded $17,000.
Youth Empowerment for Advancement Hangout (YEAH Philly) engages youth and young adults in West and Southwest Philadelphia through peer-driven mediation and conflict resolution in order to interrupt all-too-often occurring retaliatory violence. YEAH Philly is awarded $40,000.
RAW Tools Philly’s motto is “Disarm hearts, forge peace, and cultivate justice.” The organization’s Executive Director, Shane Claiborne, tours Philly communities hit hardest by gun violence and invites people traumatized by this violence to vent their anger, grief, and trauma by literally turning firearms into garden tools. Through this process, people are introduced to nonviolent conflict resolution skills. RAW Tools Philly is awarded $29,000.
Philadelphia Youth Basketball, Inc. (PYB) strives to help our city’s youth excel as students, athletes, and community leaders through the lens of sports-based youth development and education. PYB is awarded $25,000.
The NOMO Foundation, which for some time has been a DAO partner through their hosting of our long-running ONE STOP Job & Resource Hub as well as a recent youth roundtable discussion with DA Krasner focused on violence prevention and juvenile justice reform, nurtures Philly youth through life skills development and educational opportunities designed to help them identify and break the root causes of poverty and violence. The NOMO Foundation is awarded $25,000.
Asia Adams Save Our Children Foundation’s primary mission is to help prevent Teen Dating Violence, with an emphasis on engaging youth and young adults aged 10-24 through outreach, health education, evidence-based trainings, and more. The Foundation is awarded $20,000.
Beyond the Bars works to prevent violence and criminal justice system contact through the use of music and career programming, while helping our youth improve their self-esteem through the power of creativity. Beyond the Bars is awarded $12,000.
Community of Compassion, Inc. is a community development corporation dedicated to quality-of-life improvement and instilling neighborhood pride in West Philly as a means to prevent violence. The Community of Compassion CDC is awarded $28,000.
“Greater Hope is a safe haven for a lot of students traumatized by the violence that plagues Southwest Philly,” said Paul Braham, a youth counselor at Greater Hope. “This program really helped keep a lot of students and counselors off the streets this summer. They paid counselors a living wage, connected us with great educational opportunities, and taught us self-worth and the importance of understanding our roots as African Americans.”
“This latest round of violence prevention grant funding — the largest amount we’ve awarded thus far — makes clear my administration’s steadfast commitment to prevention,” said DA Krasner. “But we cannot do this alone. Today, some of our grant award recipients joined my challenge to our city’s wealthiest corporate and academic entities to match the $100 million violence prevention funding goal I set earlier this year. The clock is ticking and by meeting this critically important goal and by working together, we can save lives.”
The DAO’s violence prevention grant funding, now totaling over $490,000 since May, is derived from the lawful and appropriate use of civil asset forfeiture, will be distributed and audited by the Philadelphia Foundation. The DAO anticipates announcing the next round of awards in September. Groups interested in applying for future violence prevention funding are strongly encouraged to contact the Philadelphia Foundation at GrantmakingServices@philafound.org.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is the largest prosecutor’s office in Pennsylvania, and one of the largest in the nation. It serves the more than 1.5 million residents of the City and County of Philadelphia, employing 600 lawyers, detectives, and support staff. The District Attorney’s Office is responsible for the prosecution of approximately 40,000 criminal cases annually.
