You would pretty much have to be living under a rock, to not be aware of the violence and gun crime impacting our inner cites. Most notably Chicago, IL who as of today, has already seen nearly sixty reported homicides, not to mention the over 500 murders in 2012 or the fact that teenagers represent 29% of Chicago homicide victims.
Undoubted change must come and it can’t come soon enough. We are losing far too many kids and the question still remains, why? I think back on conversations with my grandfather or as I called him Gramps; he would describe to me the forward movement of our people, he had so much pleasure talking about owning his own business, helping others and leaving a positive legacy for my generation. Many would argue that these kind of problems can only be fixed by the community. Nationwide government programs in all honesty have existed for years, for example remember D.A.R.E , the program to Keep Kids Off Drugs, a multi – billion campaign, but did it work?
It’s just my opinion, but I have always been and will always be an advocate of the work and change that can come from simple grassroots efforts, person to person, love and care that our everyday change-makers can make happen. When new of this grant came across my desk today, I had the urge not only to share it, but to encourage our community crusaders to look into this funding, apply for it and use it to help change these crippling statistics, today! In the words of Barack Obama, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or some other time, we are the change that we seek.
The grant is funded by the The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs’ (OJP) and Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The grant RFP is seeking applications for funding under the Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction Program, also known as Project Safe Neighborhoods. This program furthers DOJ’s mission and violent crime reduction strategy by providing support to state, local, and tribal efforts to reduce gun and gang-related violent crime.
Now you have to be certified to participate in the grant through Project Safe Neighborhoods, click here to go through the steps. The following organizations are considered eligible fiscal agents: states, units of local government, educational institutions, faith-based and other community organizations, nonprofit organizations, and federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior. The grant funding ranges from $150,000 to $550K to create safer neighborhoods through a sustained reduction in crime associated with gang and gun violence, and violent offenders. For more information on this grant click here!
If you know someone working in or around communities afflicted by violent gang and gun crime, please share this with them and if they need help applying for funding, let us know, email Support@BlackCelebrityGiving.com!
