Youth Advocate Programs’ Alternative To Violence To Receive $100,000 Support Grant From Everytown Community Safety Fund
10.4.2024
Investment in Community Violence Intervention Initiatives Will Support Youth Advocate Programs’s Street Outreach and Community Healing Initiatives to Combat Gun Violence in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Today, the Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF), part of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, has announced $100,000 in funding for Youth Advocate Programs’ Alternative to Violence program to advance its work of ending gun violence in Charlotte 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.” Youth Alternatives to Violence is a community-based street outreach program working in Charlotte to target the areas of the city that are disproportionately impacted by gun violence. Alternatives to Violence disrupts violence through conflict mediation, community engagement and public awareness campaigns designed to change cultural norms, and individualized interventions, such as support with housing, employment or in addressing trauma, to help survivors and their families break the cycle of violence. The program strategically focuses on 14-25 year olds at the highest risk of exposure to violence.
“In the wake of recent mass shootings and the increasing number of gun-related deaths here in our own community, it’s good to see national organizations partnering with local efforts to stem the tide of gun violence among our youth.” – U.S. Congresswoman Alma S. Adams (NC-12)
“We are proud to announce Youth Alternatives to Violence has been awarded a 2024 grant from the Everytown Community Safety Fund,” said Michael-Sean Spence, managing director of Community Safety Initiatives at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and creator of the Everytown Community Safety Fund. “Youth Alternatives to Violence’s crucial work to address the root causes of gun violence in Charlotte have had a transformative impact on area youth and young adults. by creating spaces and developing resources that amplify their experience with gun violence and empower them to contribute to building safer communities. With this grant they will have the resources needed to support their program growth and meet the needs of even more youth across Charlotte.”
“The Alternatives to Violence program develops relationships with people in high-risk environments to foster change. Our mission is to build trust so we can help our community and intervene during conflicts to save lives,” said Fred Fogg, vice president of community-based safety initiatives at Youth Advocate Programs. “This grant from the Evertown Community Safety Fund will help us enhance our program, increasing our street outreach and community engagement efforts, and delivering out individualized services to more individuals at the highest risk of gun violence in the Beatties Ford and West Boulevard Corridors. Consistent funding is essential to maintaining our progress and we’re grateful for Everytown’s help to sustain the impact of our life-saving programs.”
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.
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.
About the Everytown Community Safety Fund
Everytown Community Safety Fund, 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. Since 2019, the Everytown Community Safety Fund 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.
About the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with nearly 10 million supporters. The Everytown Support Fund seeks to improve our understanding of the causes of gun violence and help to reduce it by conducting groundbreaking original research, developing evidence-based policies, communicating this knowledge to the American public, and advancing gun safety and gun violence prevention in communities. Learn more at www.everytownsupportfund.org.