Reading — January 11, 2023 — Today, state Sen. Judy Schwank applauded the awarding of over $4.3 million in Violence Intervention Program grant funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.
The awards in Berks County are as follows:
Berks Community Action Program, Inc. — $800,000 in funding to create and implement the FAST (Family Assistance & Support for TEENS) Program.
Center for Children’s Law and Policy — $830,600 in funding to support the implementation of a community diversion program. The grant application was filled in partnership with The Village of Reading, EducationWorks, and Empact Solutions.
Olivet Boys & Girls Club of Reading & Berks County — $607,267 to support, enhance and expand social-emotional and mental health programming for at-risk youth.
Penn State University — $1,619,017 to establish the Berks Youth Violence Intervention and Prevention Program, which will be a new initiative that will employ evidence-based strategies to serve youth ages 14-21 in Berks County.
Reading Hospital — $193,078 to implement a hospital-based violence intervention program and provide community education and resources.
Salvation Army, Reading — $261,676 to expand its current Violence Prevention Program focused on both case management and afterschool programming by hiring an additional Violence Prevention Program Coordinator.
Schwank applauded the Berks County recipients of the VIP grant funding for navigating a competitive grant funding process.
“We continue to see groups in Berks County put together strong applications for grant funding and that reality is being recognized and rewarded at the state level,” Schwank said. “The projects that are being supported will go a long way towards creating safer communities across Berks County.”
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