Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon today joined more than 100 executives, clinicians, researchers and policymakers in New York City for the 4th Annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum hosted by Northwell Health. The forum is a convening of healthcare and cross-sector leaders to form alliances, drive strategy and elevate the conversation around gun violence as a public health emergency.
PDAAG Solomon participated in a panel on community violence intervention and prevention strategies, joining Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, and Shawn Brown, Executive Director of Youth Guidance Boston. The panel was moderated by Joseph Sakran, M.D., a trauma surgeon and gun violence prevention advocate with the Johns Hopkins Health System.
The panelists discussed on-the-ground efforts and strategic approaches to gun violence prevention. PDAAG Solomon highlighted OJP’s historic investments in community violence intervention programs, beginning with $100 million in fiscal year 2022 funding to support 47 site-based programs and accompanying training, technical assistance and research. The grants, part of the Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, are helping to expand community infrastructure as a complement to law enforcement. OJP recently convened a meeting in St. Louis with more than 400 people from the project sites. Comparable funding for a new round of CVIPI grants is expected in FY 23.
During the exchange, PDAAG Solomon announced $4 million in training and technical assistance grants to support the implementation of the new Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program. With appropriations from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance recently awarded more than $230 million in SCIP funding to states and subrecipients for the creation or implementation of state crisis intervention court proceedings, extreme risk protection order programs and related gun violence reduction programs and initiatives. The training and technical assistance grants will help jurisdictions develop and expand crisis intervention programs and assist courts in identifying those at risk of harming themselves and others.
About the Office of Justice Programs
The Office of Justice Programs provides federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law.
More information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.
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