Mayor Gavin Newsom leads parade in San Francisco, CA, Apr. 22, 2007.(Photo: degolden/Shutterstock)
Gov. Newsom Announces $156 Million in Grants to Cities and NGOs for Gun Violence Prevention
‘We can’t rely on studies that show policies worked when they used the COVID lockdowns to help justify their results’
By Evan Symon, June 10, 2022 3:51 pm
Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday that $156 million in grant money would be going to gun violence prevention programs across the state.
The grants, which were provided as part of the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program (CalVIP) and awarded by the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC), generally followed previous gun prevention programs in California that showed decreases in gun violence. Specifically, the $156 million came directly from $209 million in Break the Cycle of Violence Act funding that Governor Newsom had set aside as part of his $100 billion California Comeback Plan.
These similar programs have cut the gun death rate in half in the state and made mass shooting incidents less likely in California according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), while also having been severely challenged for infringing on people’s rights, such as the second amendment. Many have also challenged those statistics as they included figures from COVID-19 pandemic years, when gun violence was very low due to mandatory lockdowns.
According to a statement made by Governor Newsom, funding will go to programs across California including:
- The City of Fresno will offer a camp in the Sierra to young people most at risk of committing violence. It will also use a portion of its funding to open sports fields and recreation centers at night for tournaments and car shows.
- The City of Oakland will conduct outreach, coaching and counseling for families with children most at risk of committing violence to help all members learn to problem solve and communicate.
- The Anti-Recidivism Coalition will begin providing services to youth from Sacramento and Los Angeles while they are housed in juvenile facilities and provide intensive case management. They will also provide a warm handoff including housing, employment and trauma-informed services.
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County and the Inland Empire will provide youth with two years of mentorships with community-based volunteers, working with families to access support including education, mental health services and emotional support.
In total, 79 cities and non-profit organizations are to receive gun violence prevention funding.
“While gridlock and division block progress on the national stage, California is leading the way with commonsense gun safety laws and prevention programs like CalVIP that save lives,” said Governor Newsom in a statement on Thursday. “We’re doubling down on these successful measures – tested and proven in California every day – as part of an all-of-the-above approach to making our communities safer and ending the tragic cycle of violence playing out in schools, churches, workplaces and public spaces across the country.”
Cheers, jeers over release of funds
Many groups, such as the Giffords Law Center, praised the release of the grants on Thursday to help fight the latest wave of mass shootings, such as the Buffalo and Uvalde, Texas shootings.
“The CalVIP program funds the work of heroes – frontline violence interrupters who put themselves in harm’s way, protect and heal survivors, and stop shootings before they ever happen,” noted Giffords Law Center State Policy Director Ari Freilich. “Last year, Governor Newsom made historic new investments in CalVIP and thanks to his efforts, dozens of programs across the state will soon be able to expand their work to reach and heal more survivors, stop more retaliations, train the next generation of violence intervention professionals, and keep more families whole and safe and free from violence. Today, we celebrate California’s investment in this vital work, and thank Governor Newsom and leaders in the Legislature who fought to secure these historic investments in community safety that works.”
However, there has also been a significant amount of backlash. Concern over government misspending, possible constitutional rights infringements, and the high number of non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that will be receiving funding have been at the forefront, as well as a recent bipartisan push to put more funds towards mental health services for gun prevention, rather that at guns themselves or social programs.
“If you want to stop gun violence, we need to reevaluate what works and what doesn’t,” stressed Ben Johnston, a gun violence researcher of mass shootings and killings going back to the Bath School Disaster in 1927, to the Globe on Friday. “We can’t rely on studies that show policies that ‘worked’ even though they used the COVID lockdowns to help justify their results. Social programs may work, but they need to be looked at carefully, not just with money being thrown around like this. We really need a focus on mental health and some sort of system that can possibly find people wanting to do this early on. Probably sounds impossible now, but 50 years ago we thought that finding serial killers before they can strike again through psychology, linguistics, and criminal profiling, but it’s now a major cornerstone after so many successes.”
“These programs getting funding that say they are going after the most at-risk is a bit concerning because, while altruistic, a lot of these funds are going to NGOs, and sometimes they can be a money pit or simply push that funding elsewhere. Fundraising costs and administrative costs alone can eat up a ton of the funds. We need to better vouch for these programs if we are going to go with a more community oriented way. The thought behind the funds, to stop mass shootings and violence, is a good thing, but they should have gone in other directions for funding.”
The other $53 million of the $209 million earmarked by Governor Newsom in CalVIP grant money is currently not assigned. The BSCC is to look into awarding the remaining funds soon.
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I feel strongly that we need to sue the governor and/ or the state because we need them to be accountable to destroying the health and safety of so many people.
For years , the fact that lots of people were just one or two paychecks away from being homeless has been an accepted reality.
So, now we have an explosion of people living somewhere other than where they lived before 2020. People who lost their businesses,homes and the education of their children.
How can it be a surprise when a person nuts up and gets violent.
Punishing law abiding gun owners because the news is covering nothing but shootings now is wrong and solves nothing.
Solve our problems first- then if there is anything left, solve others.
Let Gavin spend a week with no cameras or media coverage in a real homeless encampment.
Let him have a farewell dinner with all the inmates he has pushed out of the system and into our neighborhoods.
Us and them is not acceptable .
So well put, Mary. I’d actually like to see Newsom criminally charged, certainly removed from office for malfeasance, but of course I’m not holding my breath for that to happen. I like the idea that he should at least be sued, alongside the state, if it can be done. Can it be done? If so, I’m in. The list of ways he has tortured Californians and laid waste to the state is a very very VERY long one, and all because the man is nothing but a puffed-up, power-mad, narcissistic, nonsense-talking horse’s ass who has been the worst governor in the history of the state. And I never thought I’d live to see the day we’d have a governor who behaves as though he HATES Californians.
And by the way, does anyone really believe that Newsom received 56% or 60% of the vote, or whatever the number supposedly was, in this primary we just had?
Sure, 61% percent of the 200 people that chose to vote by mail in the middle of summer. Lol!
I have yet to see an article that gives us a break dow of how many voters cast ballots that were no longer voting Democrat.
I know that I voted with an ‘anybody but Newsom’ mantra in my mind.
I totally agree that Newsom clearly despises California and her constituents, but the least he could do is fake it….give us our monies worth !
Even my mom did not vote for him.
(Quick aside- She stopped sending Tulsi money when she saw her name on the WEF list.)
So, to answer your question, no I do not think that he won fair and square.
He won by locking everybody up and then giving away OUR money.
Plus, he drove out all the right minded citizens, so that probably helped lower the turn out.
Makes me wonder why we all pay more to live here?
YES, YES, YES, Mary, agree with every single point you made.
Why do some of us want to stay no matter what? Although I do understand some have to leave because they simply can’t afford it and some have to leave because they have young families that need more normal schooling and lives, etc., I stay because I was born here and have spent my life here. For the last many years my husband and I —- except for the occasional trip to see the in-laws in the midwest —- have vacationed and traveled only in California, and happily. So many wonderful memories here. I’d miss the place like crazy if I weren’t here, I think. There is simply no place quite like it; no people quite like the people here. I think I’d be a fish out of water anywhere else. And I vowed some time ago I would give my efforts to help shift my state back to semi-sanity if at all possible. Or…. maybe I’m just stubborn. 🙂 So until I’m actually ON FIRE or taxed and frustrated out of existence because of Gruesome & Co.’s doofy policies I’m not going anywhere. Best wishes to you, Mary.
The stated goel is for NGO’s and local governments to, I guess, start programs aimed at “at risk kids” in targeted cities. Any need to elaborate on the nature of the target? And did not faith based youth groups, scouting (you pick the gender), PAL’s (police athletic leagues), pop Warner, little league used to fill these roles? Good luck. I don’t have much faith in NGO’s, especially those Newsom would give money to
No kidding, you don’t need to spell out who the target would be. One way or another I’m sure these so-called ‘non-profit programs’ exist in one form or another and any further additions would be duplicative. So it looks like he is vote-buying again and slush-funding those who would be willing to get those votes in for him (e.g. harvesting)…… or whatever. Can’t help but be cynical about Newsom and his game. I think we have more than enough reason to be cynical on the subject of what Newsom’s about. (Hint: HIMSELF)
Within hours, the CIA/FBI/Mason/Dem orchestrated shooting narratives completely collapse, and legislation magically appears. What are the chances (lol)? God’s grace is greater, and the devil can’t defeat the blood…. So hang in everyone, we may catch a few mini-waves, but no where near the tsunami this evil will endure.
‘GUN VIOLENCE INCREASES IN CALIFORNIA’ – PRI | PACIFIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
“Legislators and policy makers might consider that the recent increase in violent crimes have more to do with laws that fail to hold criminals accountable than the legal purchase of firearms”
2 officers KIA in El Monte last week thanks to George Gascan letting ANOTHER repeat violent gangster go. This “profile” can be seen all over the nation thanks to the Soros-purchased Marxist DAs. Though even SF finally had enough and they booted Boudin. Probably too late though.
“Root Causes”? The juvenile justice system in the metros is already so loose that the teen proto-gangsters show off their ‘tude–have you seen the “No Fear” decals on their gangstermobiles? “End juvenile incarceration” is the mantra of the Marxists in the Bay Area. It’s pretty much there already.
Meanwhile a CHP officer clings to life after being shot by a PTSD-afflicted combat vet who sought mental health care from the new “robustly funded” VA and was offered an appointment…next January.
The Frankenstate monster DOES NOT CARE ABOUT PEOPLE. It self-perpetuates itself and SOLVES NOTHING. These “programs” are just “walking around money” for the Democrat machine. One of their “activist” types in Fresno who works for one of these NGOs was just busted for murder conspiracy. (web search for “Advance Peace Fresno Leonard Smith”)
Conclusions?
ASK the question, why can’t the K-12 education system we already pay $14K per student for do anything about this?
WHY do we need more laws when it’s clear many localities are NOT enforcing the laws we already have?
Prepare to defend yourselves. It doesn’t look like the government is going to. See how the Uvalde cops are in court to suppress the release of the facts of their failures?
A resource: GunViolenceArchive.org you will see many not reported on the “news”.