Paterson Healing Collective Awarded $100,000 Support Grant From Everytown Community Safety Fund

Investment in Community Violence Intervention Initiatives Will Support the Paterson Healing Collectives’ Trauma-Informed Care and Community Healing Initiatives to Combat Gun Violence in Passaic County, NJ

PATERSON, NJ —Today, the Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF), part of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, has announced $100,000 in funding for the Paterson Healing Collective (PHC) to advance its work of ending gun violence in Paterson and better position the organization to access federal funding. This grant is part of Everytown Community Safety Fund’s more than $2 million investment in 20 gun violence intervention organizations nationwide announced today. The Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF), a program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, is the largest national initiative solely dedicated to fueling the life-saving work of community-based violence intervention organizations in cities nationwide.

According to the U.S. Surgeon General, a public health approach to gun related injury and violence prevention requires immediate “investments in community‑based interventions and educational programs.” The Paterson Healing Collective, a project of Reimagining Justice, Inc., is a hospital-based initiative in Passaic County, New Jersey. The program extends its services beyond the hospital through a comprehensive suite of services, including case management, trauma-informed care, and access to counseling and mental health services. PHC also conducts designs and implements strategies and innovative approaches to violence prevention and education initiatives, working closely with community partners to raise awareness about the root causes of violence and promote positive change. An Everytown CSF grantee since 2021, PHC provides immediate crisis intervention, emotional support and resource referrals to those impacted by gun violence. By fostering collaborations with various community organizations, law enforcement agencies, and educational institutions, PHC aims to create a safer and more resilient community, empowering individuals to heal and build a future free from violence. 

“Community-based violence intervention programs are indispensable in our comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence in America. Everytown is proud to provide grants to organizations like the Paterson Healing Collective, led by courageous and insightful leaders who intimately understand their communities’ strengths and challenges,” said Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of community safety initiatives and fund at Everytown for Gun Safety. “PHC’s lifesaving efforts deserve our continued investment to ensure sustained progress towards a safer, more resilient, and hopeful society for all.”

“We are doing everything in our power to address the deep-seated trauma caused by gun violence, empowering individuals to reclaim their lives and fostering a stronger, safer community,” said Dr. Liza Chowdhury, executive director of Reimagining Justice and the Paterson Healing Collective Initiative. “With this grant from Everytown, we will build organizational capacity to carry out the additional aspects of our work not typically covered by grant funding such as enhanced staff training, transportation, and community events that foster resilience and solidarity.”

Gun homicide has significantly declined  in cities across the nation from a post-pandemic spike — due in part to the scaling and city coordination efforts with community based violence intervention organizations working on the frontlines of the gun violence epidemic in cities across the country. And though local communities have seen a reduction in gun violence, data shows that gun homicide rates in the U.S. are still 26 times higher than in other developed countries. In the United States, every day, more than 120 Americans are killed with guns and more than 200 are shot and wounded.

Since 2019, the Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF) has granted over $13 million in support of 136 community-based violence intervention organizations implementing promising strategies, like street outreach, hospital-based violence interventions and youth development and counseling, in more than 69 American cities. This latest round of support grants, currently CSF’s largest grant offering, will provide grant recipients $100,000, in two disbursements over two years, as well as access to CSF’s quarterly calls, peer convenings, capacity-building trainers, national conferences, as well as support from Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and its grassroots networks Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, and national partners. 

The full list of community-based violence intervention organizations currently supported by the Everytown Community Safety Fund and more information about the fund can be found here.

About Everytown Community Safety Fund

Since 2019, the Everytown Community Safety Fund, the largest national initiative solely dedicated to fueling the life-saving work of community-based violence intervention programs in cities nationwide, has granted $13 million granted to 136 community-based violence intervention organizations implementing promising strategies, like street outreach, hospital-based violence interventions, youth development and counseling in more than 69 American cities.

About Reimagining Justice, Inc.

Co-founded by Dr. Liza Chowdhury, Reimagining Justice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to a reformed justice system that provides love, empathy, quality, and opportunities for our communities. The organization offers transformative mentoring, narrative therapy, resilience circles, training, support, and consulting services to victims of community-based violence.