STROUDSBURG AND BUSHKILL, PA – Lt. Gov. Austin Davis visited northeastern Pennsylvania today to highlight the wins for local communities in the 2025-26 state budget, which provides more resources for public safety, food security and services for older Pennsylvanians.
“Throughout the budget process, Governor Shapiro and I stood up for our principles and stayed at the negotiating table – and at the end of the day, this budget earned broad, bipartisan support,” said Davis. “It makes key investments to make Pennsylvania communities safer and care for some of our most vulnerable residents. The Shapiro-Davis Administration is continuing to deliver real results for the good people of Pennsylvania.”
Davis’ first stop was in Monroe County, where he heard from county officials, as well as representatives from SAFE Monroe and the Community Partnership for Gun Safety. In March 2024, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which Davis leads, awarded a Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) grant to Monroe County, which is using the funds to implement their strategic plan to prevent gun violence and promote gun safety, including safer storage.
The newly enacted state budget increases funding for the VIP program by 10 percent and will provide more than $62 million for grants to address gun violence and make Pennsylvania communities safer. It also includes funding for four additional Pennsylvania State Police cadet classes.
Over the past three years, Davis has visited VIP grantees in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Allentown, Wilkes-Barre, York, Erie, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Reading, Towanda and Butler. Since 2023, the Shapiro-Davis Administration has awarded $85 million in VIP grants to more than 130 projects – each one focused on evidence-based strategies that are tailored to the local community. Those investments are seeing results – since 2022, homicides have declined by about 35 percent statewide.
Davis also visited Pike County and met with local leaders at the Lehman Township Community Center, which is home to the Bushkill Outreach Program, a community food pantry. The new center will soon provide services to local seniors through a partnership with the Pike County Area Agency on Aging (AAA).
The 2025-26 state budget invests an additional $10 million into local AAAs and provides an $11 million boost for food assistance programs, including $5 million more for food banks.
“As the fastest-growing county in Pennsylvania, and one with a large percentage of our population over the age of 60, I am especially encouraged by the state budget’s support for senior services,” said Pike County Commissioner Christa L. Caceres, who is also the head of the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s Citizen Law Enforcement Advisory & Review (CLEAR) Commission. “It was a pleasure to show Lt. Gov. Austin Davis around the new Bushkill Outreach Center, and I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss how these investments will strengthen Pike County and improve the quality of life for our residents.”
Under the Shapiro-Davis Administration’s leadership, Pennsylvania has launched Aging Our Way, PA, a 10-year plan for healthy aging and been designated an Age-Friendly state by the AARP. The more than $10 million in funding this year will build on that progress by helping AAAs deliver essential services like meals, social activities, and transportation to Pennsylvania’s older adult population.