PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Community groups working to curb Philadelphia's violent crime problem are being invited to apply for small grants from the city to aid their efforts. This is the second round of grants being given as part of the city's violence prevention project.
In June, the city awarded a total of $700,000 to 46 grassroots groups providing a variety of services including resource fairs for youth, education supports, connections to employment, training, creating safe spaces.
Deputy managing director Theron Pride says the city got a lot of good feedback, so this round is again focusing on neighborhood-level programs aimed at youth at the highest risk of gun violence.
"There are real credible messengers out there who have really good ideas and we think they'll be able to reach a lot of those individuals in a way that city government can't," Pride said.
Pride says the city doesn't expect to see measurable reductions in crime as a result of these small bore efforts, but believes the collective impact will lead to progress.
"We do hope to build a groundswell of effort and support and I think our partners in police would say it's a value added to have more community members engaged in public safety and public health work," he added.
You can call 215-686-0789, email ovpinfo@phila.gov for more information, and applications will be accepted until Oct. 21.
