Philadelphia, PA − April 20, 2026 − Senator Vincent Hughes, announced over $23 million in state grants for grassroot, community anti-violence groups and after-school programs in Philadelphia. The grants were awarded by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) School Safety and Security Committee from Violence Intervention & Prevention (VIP) and Building Opportunities Through Out-of-Schol Time (BOOST) funds.
“I’m so proud to announce VIP and BOOST funds for local organizations in Philadelphia that are doing incredibly important work to get violence off our streets and give our kids opportunities to learn and grow their sense of purpose,” said Senator Hughes.
In total, over $65 million was awarded to organizations and programs across the Commonwealth. 177 applications were approved and 465 eligible applications were received.
“We started this effort in 2018 to address the power of our community leaders and neighbors to effect change. We knew that if folks were empowered at the local level, we could change the trajectory of the violence we were seeing in neighborhoods and provide powerful community outlets for healing and personal growth.”
Senator Hughes led the creation of the VIP program in 2018 in response to the need for action in the wake of Parkland and other school shootings. The idea was to take a comprehensive approach to stopping gun violence and invest in organizations that were actively working to prevent gun violence at the community level.
In total, the VIP and BOOST programs have awarded $331.15 million in grants since 2018.
Governor Shapiro proposed $68.36 million for anti-violence programs in the FY26-27 budget. On April 14, 2026, the PA House of Representatives passed the Governor’s proposed budget.
###