The City of Richmond has been awarded $1.9M to help reduce community violence for its “Youth Shape the Future” programming that looks to enhance the City’s work around reducing gun violence. Richmond was one of only six city/county/tribal governments in the country chosen for the highly competitive enhancement and expansion grants.

“Young people and their caregivers need positive development activities and productive learning environments,” said Mayor Stoney. “This major investment will enhance the reach of our Gun Violence Prevention and Intervention Framework and foster healthier families and safer communities.”

This grant furthers the work outlined in the GVPI Framework focusing on the youth components to include youth justice, We Matter RVA, and the implementation of Youth LIFT Messengers.

The project will also fund enhancements of the City’s Gun Violence Prevention Steering Committee and GVPI Framework through the development of a robust strategic plan. Through the existing Framework, Richmond has committed to investing resources and deploying positive youth development philosophies to build protective factors and resiliency. The new strategic plan will be informed in part by the City’s soon-to-be-released Youth and Gang Violence Community Assessment and will be assessed and updated annually as part of the grant.

“The awarding of this grant comes at a time when Richmond is grappling with youth and teen gun violence almost on a weekly basis,” says Samuel Brown, Community Safety Coordinator. “Money is just the beginning but being able to enhance our programs and put more boots on the ground to pull our youth in is critical. My hope is to educate, train, and empower Richmond youth and teens to think critically before making life-altering decisions that no one can return from.”

The grant includes funding for a rigorous three-year independent evaluation of these Gun Violence Prevention initiatives to be led by VCU’s Survey and Evaluation Research Lab (SERL). The City of Richmond along with its community partners are grateful that the USDOJ believed in the work that is already being done and understood that the infusion of $1.9M will only help in making a bigger dent in changing lives and generations.