BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Communities across Western New York are receiving an additional $1 million in state funding to combat gun violence after a violent Fourth of July weekend that left multiple people injured in Buffalo and two people dead in separate shootings in Niagara Falls.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the funding this week, saying the money will support law enforcement, violence prevention and community outreach efforts in Erie and Niagara counties through the state's Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative, Project RISE and the SNUG Street Outreach program.
Crystal McBride, a lifelong Buffalo resident, said she has watched violence become a growing concern in the city.
"It is just getting rampant. Everyone is trying to live and survive. All this violence needs to go," McBride said.
She said she hopes the additional funding will help increase public safety.
"We need more work, we need more police presence, and we will never be back to normal, but calm things down a little bit. Everyone is scared," McBride said.
One of the organizations receiving funding is SNUG Buffalo, which will receive a share of $200,000 designated for SNUG Street Outreach and Hospital Response programs in Buffalo and Niagara Falls.
Roger Parker, assistant site administrator for SNUG Buffalo, said the funding comes at a critical time.
"It was a tragedy on July 4 in Buffalo that so many people were harmed by gun violence," Parker said.
SNUG is a community violence prevention organization that works to reduce shootings through outreach, conflict mediation and community engagement.
"We are so grateful that she is giving us the opportunity to lower the harm that is being caused by gun violence," Parker said.
Parker said the additional funding will allow the organization to spend more time listening to residents, identifying community needs and expanding neighborhood events and programming.
"I have already pulled some of our potential participants aside to ask what they would like to have as an option. Is it a large event? Is it multiple small weekly events? All these things can be addressed with this money she has provided for us," Parker said.
According to Hochul's office, the funding is intended to strengthen partnerships between law enforcement and community organizations while addressing the root causes of gun violence.
Parker said the investment will have a lasting impact on neighborhoods throughout Buffalo.
"It is allowing us to reinvest into communities where we live and where we shop and have family ties," he said.
For McBride, the hope is simple.
"To help this violence stop. It is horrible. We have kids trying to grow up, and they can't even come out and play," she said.
WATCH: 'The violence needs to go': Community groups react to funding aimed at reducing gun violence
