Youth Development Inc.’s ABQ Against Violence To Receive $100,000 Support Grant From Everytown Community Safety Fund
10.4.2024
Investment in Community Violence Intervention Initiatives Will Support Youth Outreach Programs to Combat Gun Violence in Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Today, the Everytown Community Safety Fund (CSF), part of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, has announced $100,000 in funding for Youth Development Inc: ABQ Against Violence to advance its work of ending gun violence in Albuquerque 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.” ABQ Against Violence, a program of Youth Development Inc., is a development and mentorship program in Albuquerque for youth aged 16-26 who are most likely to be victims or perpetrators of gun violence due to their exposure to cycles of gun violence and violent crime. ABQ Against Violence provides a comprehensive set of services including assertive outreach, behavioral health services, case management, trauma recovery and employment training. The organization employs case managers and licensed therapists to address trauma and immediate needs, and education and job opportunities to complement the therapy.
“The time is now to fund evidence-based community violence intervention programs like ABQ Against Violence, which are so crucial to safeguarding the lives of vulnerable young people and preventing future tragedies,” said Michael-Sean Spence, Managing Director of Community Safety Initiatives and Fund at Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. “The data is also clear. Real investment leads to real impact and fuels the work of community-based violence intervention programs in the fight to curb crime and break cycles of violence. With this grant, ABQ Against Violence can sustain their life-saving work and scale their comprehensive support model to support even more in need across Albuquerque.”
“ABQ Against Violence works with teens and young adults at the highest risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of gun violence due to their involvement in gun violence. Our program gives them a pathway away from crime for a better and safer life,” said Tasia Martinez, program manager of ABQ Against Violence at Youth Development Inc. “This grant from the Everytown Community Safety Fund will support direct operational costs, including supporting meals for participants, which helps create a trauma informed environment and provides a sense of safety, as well as wages for participants to gain valuable work experience. The grant will also allow us to deliver community events for community members, raising awareness about the impact of gun violence in Albuquerque and ways we can collectively reduce gun violence.”
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, and it’s 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.