Mayor Scott Awards $300K To Violence Prevention Initiatives

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Mayor Brandon Scott on Thursday announced a second round of grants to violence prevention initiatives, awarding $300,000 from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation to seven nonprofit organizations.

“These historic investments we continue to make in our community-based organizations are what make our approach to violence reduction different from the disparate, one-off efforts of the past,” said Scott. “We are gaining momentum in the cultivation of Baltimore’s [Community Violence Intervention] ecosystem and the reduction of violence in our city.”

In February, Scott awarded $17.6 million in federal dollars to similar programs, the bulk of which went to Returning Citizens Behind the Wall, a joint effort among several city agencies to employ nearly 3,000 returning citizens.

The awardees Thursday include programs for mentoring and conflict resolution, re-entry work, and leadership development.

Here’s the full list:

• Challenge 2 Change Inc. – $100,000
• MissionFit Inc. – $25,000
• No Struggle No Success Inc. – $50,000
• PIVOT Inc. – $25,000
• The Door – Baltimore Urban Leadership Foundation – $25,000
• The RICH Program $25,000
• Community Law in Action – $50,000

The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement is still accepting funding proposals from violence prevention groups. More details are available at the agency’s funding portal.

“The more we invest in our CVI ecosystem through our community-based organizations, the more of a reach that our violence reduction strategies will have across all of Baltimore’s 90 square miles,” said Shantay Jackson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.