BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Gov. Hochul announced Monday $28 million in funding towards combatting gun violence, increasing opportunities for youth, and strengthening public safety in cities across New York State.
The cities to receive funding, Albany, Buffalo, Mount Vernon, Newburgh, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers, will receive up to $4 million through Project RISE.
Project RISE: Respond, Invest, Sustain, and Empower will provide community-based organizations in each city with up to $2 million in funding. The funding will go towards implementing, expanding, and improving programs and services that increase opportunity for youth and families, empower neighborhoods disproportionately affected by gun violence and improve public safety.
"The scourge of gun violence requires bold investments on multiple fronts, and by investing in local organizations through Project RISE we will help meet each neighborhood's needs, address local challenges, and provide effective sustainable solutions," Hochul said. "This funding and these
partnerships will improve, enhance, and expand the State's comprehensive response to gun violence in each of these cities, helping address the root causes of gun violence and create safer neighborhoods for all New Yorkers."
A Project RISE steering committee will be established in each city. The committee will identify up to four community organizations that are eligible to receive an award of up to $500,000.
Each committee will also be responsible for a set of goals including:
- Building a local community's capacity to implement and sustain programming to address the underlying factors contributing to violence in the community
- Enhance responses to violence within the community through increased community partnerships and programming with a healing and equity lens
