Everytown Announces Launch of 10 New Grants to Support Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design Projects Nationwide Ahead of National Gun Violence Awareness Day on Friday
6.1.2022
Ranging From Restoring Vacant Lots to Creating Community Art Installations, Everytown Support Fund is Allocating $100,000 to Fund 10 Grants for Local Gun Violence Prevention Organizations
Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) Projects are Place-Based Approaches to Reducing Gun Violence in Communities Disproportionately Impacted By Gun Violence
NEW YORK — Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund today announced 10 new grants totaling $100,000 to support 10 unique Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) grant projects in communities across the country that are disproportionately impacted by gun violence. A program of the Everytown Community Safety Fund, the effort will support projects as the nation marks National Gun Violence Awareness Day on Friday and kicks off Wear Orange weekend.
Each project and grant recipient is unique – from restoring vacant lots to creating community art installations – but all projects involve deliberate efforts to change the built environment, reduce crime and increase community safety in communities disproportionately impacted by gun violence. A 2016 study of abandoned building remediation and lot remediation in Philadelphia found that both strategies reduced firearm violence by 39 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, showing that environmental improvements can help reduce gun violence in heavily impacted communities.
“This National Gun Violence Awareness Day, we’re excited to support ten community-based organizations on the frontlines of supporting survivors and reducing gun violence by improving the communities they live in,” said Michael Sean Spence, Senior Director for Community Safety Initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. “These projects were developed by community leaders to develop peace gardens, revitalize parks, and paint murals to empower residents to co-produce safety in their hometowns. With technical assistance offered by LISC Safety & Justice, these projects will provide a living monument to what communities can accomplish together.”
“There are steps that communities can take right now to fight back against the gun violence that destroys lives every day in America,” said Mona Mangat, Vice President, LISC Safety & Justice. “Whether we’re talking about creating safer physical environments or training local folks to act as violence interrupters, progress begins when people come together to share their stories, express their common will, and build collective power. Wear Orange does just that, and our team at LISC Safety & Justice is honored to support it. ”
Local volunteers with Moms Demand Action will work in collaboration with grantees to implement CPTED projects over the course of the next few months. In addition, Local Initiatives Support Corp (LISC), national leaders in implementing CPTED projects, will provide 10 hours of technical assistance to each grant recipient and collaborating volunteer group in order to ensure projects center community voices. LISC has supported grantees in preparing their projects and will sustain support in the months to follow in order to ensure these changes to the physical environment are long-lasting.
The following organizations are 2022 Wear Orange CPTED grant recipients:
- Family Survivor Survivor Network – Baltimore, Maryland
- Action4Equity – Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Wilkinsburg Sanctuary Project for Peace – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- King Ja’Mere M. Alfred Foundation – Marrero, Louisiana
- Spin the Yard – Wyandanch, New York
- United Playaz – San Francisco, California
- Divine Urban Expressions – Knoxville, Tennessee
- West Market Street Council – Bloomington, Illinois
- Teens with a Purpose – Norfolk, Virgina
- Explore Ecology – Santa Barbara, California
More information about Wear Orange is available here. More information about Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design projects is available here.