Governor Murphy allocated $15 million in grant funding to violence intervention and prevention organizations to make a difference in the Garden State. More than 30 organizations, including three in Trenton, have been identified to receive funding for implementing their violence intervention and prevention programming. Funding was concentrated in communities impacted by higher-than-average rates of violence, with a specific concentration on regions impacted by gun violence. The three organizations identified from the Capital City include:

• James. R Halsey Foundation of the Arts
• PEI Kids
• Salvation and Social Justice

A complete list of the organizations supported through this funding can be found here: Office of the Governor.

Funded initially as part of Governor  Murphy’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget, the CBVI program was a landmark in financial support recognizing the importance of violence intervention. As a result, ork. Governor Murphy included another $10 million as part of his Fiscal Year 2023 Budget and supplemented that amount with an additional $5 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds. This $15 million total dedicated to CBVI programming is a new high-water investment mark and will allow for significant expansion of violence intervention initiatives across New Jersey.

“Groundbreaking violence intervention and prevention programs, like the Community-Based Violence Intervention program, are essential in our efforts to combat violence in our communities,” stated Governor Murphy. “We are incredibly grateful to the federal government for providing funding and supporting our efforts to keep New Jerseyans safe from violence. Residents of our state can rest assured that Attorney General Platkin and I will continue to work with dedicated stakeholders to establish innovative and evidence-based approaches to reduce violence and keep our communities safe.”

“Public safety is my number one priority, and thanks to Governor Murp,hy we are making another historic investment in communities across the state to support their critical violence intervention work,” said Attorney General Platkin. “These community-based and community-led solutions interrupt cycles of violence and are an essential part of keeping our residents safe. With this funding, we will be able to deepen and expand our commitment to build a public health approach to reduce gun violence and other violent crime.”

Community violence intervention practitioners provide services from street outreach, group and individual counseling, mentoring, career development, cognitive behavioral therapy, case management, after-school programming, and community referrals.

These efforts include funding for violence interventionists, who are individuals that identify others who are at high risk for committing violence and work with them to stop the escalation and retaliation of violent acts; experienced individuals who create safe passageways for students traveling to and from school in areas plagued by violent crime; credible messengers who work with guidance counselors in schools to help connect youth experiencing trauma and who are at risk for violence and victimization to trauma-informed services; and grief counseling for children of victims of gun violence.

In September 2022, Attorney General Platkin created the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance (VIVA) to, among other things, provide structure and permanent support for violence intervention programs and bring a survivor-centered, trauma-informed approach to public safety. VIVA provides the leadership and dedicated professionals to support, guide and expand programs like CBVI and Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs (HVIP), which recently received another round of funding support from the Murphy Administration. Using funding initially provided through the federal Victims of Crime Act and the American Rescue Plan program, the state has invested more than $40 million in the HVIP initiative. The programs are critical to the state’s efforts to reduce cycles of violence at their source. CBVI and HVIP mark a transformation in New Jersey’s approach to public safety.

These grants build on previous and continuing efforts by the Administration to reduce gun violence addition, ine. In addition, in 2021, Governor Murphy and the Attorney General’s Office announced a new initiative to expand violence intervention work in New Jersey through $10 million in state funding to establish the CBVI program. This program represented the most significant single investment in community-based violence intervention in the state’s history.

The CBVI funding reflects a vital component of the Murphy Administration’s efforts to tackle the root causes of violent crime. Over the last year, CBVI grants directly funded more than 20 community organizations in every state region, supporting intervention strategies that help communities reduce gun violence by developing healing relationships among the groups and individuals at the center of gun violence. Through this year’s CBVI funding, New Jersey will support 32 organizations implementing violence prevention and intervention services in 13 of the state’s 21 counties.

These interventions mark a meaningful commitment from the State of New Jersey to keep our communities safe and thriving. Every New Jerseyan deserves the right to live without fears of violence in the places they call home, and this funding brings us one significant step closer to a more unified world.

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