And it was all because of the role played by our advocacy — a movement powered by you. You’ve shown how our strategy and engagement can work to save lives. Now, we need to build on Governor Shapiro’s action and push legislators to follow through and include that funding in this year’s final budget.
Please help fuel this effort in any way you can. Any amount helps.
While our advocacy helped secure historic investment in community violence intervention programs last budget cycle,1 the truth is that interrupting the cycle of violence takes time. It requires sustained investment to create real change.
We need funding to continue the work being done at places like the Unified Erie anti-violence initiative in Erie, PA. This program is making sure that young people at high risk of getting involved in gun violence know that there will be legal consequences for doing so, while also offering supports and services to them and their parents to help address root causes and steer them off this track. The initiative invests critical state grant funding to focus on outreach to teenagers and young adults through an evidence-based intervention intended to stop tomorrow’s shooting from ever happening.2
We know that funding these programs works — other states with similar levels of funding for gun violence prevention initiatives have seen a 30 percent reduction in incidents of aggravated assault, homicide, and other violent acts.3
We all want to live in a state where we can go to work, go to school, and play at a playground with our family without fear of gun violence.
