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New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced that the state has won a multiyear, competitive grant of $4 million from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to enhance and expand existing community violence intervention strategies. The grant will be used to improve coordination and collaboration among local organizations that provide violence prevention and intervention services to communities most affected by violence.
The project will be led by the Division of Violence Intervention and Victim Assistance (VIVA) within the Department of Law and Public Safety (LPS). VIVA's Office of Violence Intervention and Prevention (OVIP) will use the federal funding to identify service gaps and develop solutions tailored to the needs of each community. OVIP will also work with community-based violence intervention (CBVI) providers and other human service agencies to create a network of pro-social services and activities that can respond to and reduce instances of violence.
"New Jersey has established itself as a leader in embracing a public health approach to public safety and gun violence prevention by creating and supporting a statewide network of community violence intervention organizations," said Attorney General Platkin. "This award will ensure New Jersey continues to innovate and lead. The State has already invested significantly in violence prevention and intervention programming, and we will use this federal grant to enhance our network of providers. By making our system of violence prevention stronger and more resilient, we will continue to make New Jersey safer."
Patricia Teffenhart, Executive Director of VIVA, said that the grant is an opportunity to build on Attorney General Platkin's commitment to a restorative and healing approach to public safety. "Communities are strengthened when partners work together, creating a network of pro-social services and activities to respond to and reduce instances of violence. This opportunity will enable us to deepen our investment in two specific communities, creating a blueprint that can be replicated and expanded to support our statewide community violence prevention and intervention infrastructure."