HARRISBURG, PA – Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis is highlighting the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s work to make Pennsylvania communities safer through the Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) and Building Opportunities through Out-of-School Time (BOOST) grant programs, which have received more than $160 million in funding over the past three years.
Lt. Gov. Davis recently joined Second Lady Blayre Holmes Davis for a conversation with former Pittsburgh Steeler and Mon Valley native Charlie Batch and his wife, Latasha Wilson-Batch, to discuss their Best of the Batch Foundation, which provides afterschool and summer programs for young people. Earlier this year, Best of the Batch received a $200,000 VIP grant from the Shapiro-Davis Administration to strengthen and expand their year-round programming for more than 4,000 youth in the Mon Valley.
YouTube – Why We're Funding Out-of-School Programs in Pennsylvania
The Best of the Batch video is part of the Lieutenant Governor’s new YouTube channel, which will feature monthly conversations with state and local leaders from across the Commonwealth.
See what people are saying about the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s successful investments to create opportunity for Pennsylvania youth and prevent violence in our communities:
- This week National Public Radio aired a story about the Kensington Soccer Club, which serves thousands of kids in the neighborhood, giving them mentorship and a safe outlet to learn and play the beautiful game. The club received a $400,000 VIP grant during the 2023-24 fiscal year.
- Last week WHYY covered Philadelphia’s first youth restorative justice cohort, which trained more than 30 young people over the past year to address community violence by reducing harm and promoting accountability and healing. This program received nearly $950,000 in VIP funding during the 2023-24 fiscal year.
In addition, Davis, who leads the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), recently spoke with WITF’s The Spark about the Administration’s comprehensive strategy to reduce gun violence by addressing its root causes, including mental health challenges and lack of opportunity.
“The quickest way to take a gun out of somebody’s hand is to put a paycheck in it,” said Lt. Gov. Davis.
Davis also emphasized how leaders from both sides of the aisle can find common ground on this issue. Over the past three years, Republican lawmakers have joined Davis from Philadelphia to Erie to Bradford County to highlight PCCD-supported programs.
VIP funding supports a wide range of community-based efforts to reduce violence, while BOOST grants support afterschool and summer programs that keep young people safe and provide them with enrichment opportunities. Since the 2023-24 fiscal year, PCCD has approved 354 VIP and BOOST projects, totaling approximately $162 million to support community- and youth-focused safety initiatives.
Here’s what Pennsylvanians have been hearing about investments by the Shapiro-Davis Administration to make our communities safer:
NPR: In a rough Philly neighborhood, soccer offers hope and joy
WHYY: Philadelphia youth take restorative justice training to their peers
WITF: Lt. Gov. Austin Davis on state funding for gun violence prevention