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New Jersey is setting aside $14.5 million to further support the state’s community-based violence intervention program.

As part of the latest grant round, the state is awarding resources to 27 organizations that work to interrupt cycles of violence in high-risk communities, according to a Jan. 23 press release from the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. 

Since 2021, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration has invested nearly $130 million in the program.

Funding for the 2025 cycle are also being provided through federal American Rescue Plan funds as well as New Jersey’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget.

State resources from the program are primarily drawn from the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Fund, which was set up to reinvest in communities most impacted by cannabis criminalization.

Using a public health approach, the community-based violence intervention (CBVI) program deploys a range of strategies, including:

• Street outreach led by credible messengers;
• Mentorship;
• High-risk intervention including de-escalation services;
• Safe passage for school-age youth in high-crime areas;
• Case management, counseling and trauma support services for individuals who are at high risk for violence and/or victimization.

Numbers to know

According to the Attorney General’s office, between Jan. 1 and Oct. 1, 2024, CBVI providers across the state responded to 365 violent incidents, using de-escalation and mediation techniques as well as other services to those impacted by violence.

By focusing on these incidents, providers put trained professionals in the locations and with the people at a point critical to preventing further violence and victimization, the state said.

Other initiatives include leading group work with those impacted by or at risk of violence, using proven strategies – such as grief counseling, mediation, restorative justice approaches, addiction counseling and trauma recovery services – that build community capacity and resilience, the state added.

Over the first three quarters of 2024, providers also held 513 violence prevention events, reaching nearly 16,000 community members.

Additionally, strategic partnerships with schools have served as another key tool, the AG’s office reported. CBVI providers run nearly 100 Safe Passage interventions around schools, focusing on routes to and from school that can give rise to conflict and violence, helping students remain safe and free of violence.

Continuing a change implemented during the 2024 grant cycle, the 2025 program puts a special emphasis and priority on violence intervention programs known as “tertiary services.” These are recognized as providing the most immediate benefit in reducing and responding to violence.

‘Lifesaving work’

In a statement, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said, “Since I took office, I’ve made it a priority to use all available tools and innovations to combat gun violence. Our transformational approach to public safety is working: the last two years have marked historic reductions in shootings, and the community-led solutions we fund are a critical part of that strategy.”

He went on, “Gov. Murphy’s support and the State’s continued investment in community violence intervention programming has established New Jersey as a leader in prevention. The grants announced today will continue an approach of making smart investments in interventions and organizations that do lifesaving work.”

Murphy said he was “thrilled to see the Community-Based Violence Intervention Program enter its fourth year providing lifesaving services in communities across New Jersey.”

“As Attorney General Platkin and I highlighted earlier this year, gun violence in 2024 reached historic lows in our state, thanks in part to programs like CBVI. The program has played a role in addressing the root causes of violence through targeted interventions and community partnerships,” the Democratic governor said. “Our Administration, in collaboration with our community partners, will continue to do what we can to reduce violence in our communities so that our friends and neighbors do not have to worry about their safety.”

New Jersey experienced a record-low number of shootings in 2024.

Make no mistake: Each and every life lost is a tragedy. But we should be incredibly proud of every law enforcement officer and community member working to drive these numbers down. pic.twitter.com/YIzYaVGAQw

— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 17, 2025

Grant recipients (listed alphabetically by county):

• The Alcove Center for Grieving Children and Families Inc. Atlantic County
• Wellbeing & Equity Innovations Inc. Atlantic County
• Allied Resources for Children Inc. Camden County
• Girls Inc. of Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey Camden County
• Life Worth Living Inc. Cumberland County
• United Advocacy Group Cumberland, Gloucester counties
• Tri-County Community Action Agency Inc. Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem counties
• Hopeloft, A NJ Nonprofit Corporation Cumberland, Salem counties
• Ironbound Community Corp. Essex County
• Newark Community Street Team Essex County
• Partners Uplifting Our Daughters and Sons Essex County
• Prodigal Sons and Daughters Behavioral Healthcare Services Essex County
• The Bridge Inc. Essex County
• United Community Corp. Essex County
• Covenant House New Jersey Inc. Essex, Atlantic counties
• Anti-Violence Coalition of Hudson County Hudson County
• Kismet of Kings Hudson County
• The Guazabara Foundation Inc. Hudson County
• Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton Mercer County
• Prevention Education Inc. T/A PEI Kids Mercer County
• Salvation and Social Justice Mercer County
• HMH Hospitals Corp. (Jersey Shore University Medical Center) Monmouth County
• SOLID Foundation Youth Outreach Passaic County
• St. Joseph’s University Medical Center Inc. Passaic County
• NJ Chamber of Commerce Foundation Inc. Passaic, Union, Middlesex, Camden, Cumberland, Atlantic, Burlington, Gloucester counties
• Boxwood Learning Center Inc. Union County
• Make the Road NJ Union, Passaic, Middlesex counties