![\"53861562449_cff47737bc_k\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775826727_841_53861562449_cff47737bc_k.jpg\" "\\"Hochul")
\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul<\/p>\n
Don Pollard\/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul<\/p>\n
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that the state will grant $5 million to nonprofits and community organizations that give young people a safe space and enriching activities as part of an ongoing effort to reduce gun violence.<\/p>\n
The new initiative, called Havens of Opportunity, Peace and Empowerment (HOPE), is calling on grassroots organizations across all five boroughs to apply for up to $1 million each to fund safe havens and programming for a period of two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic safety is my top priority, and our nation-leading gun laws and prevention programs are making real change across New York communities,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cIn 2025, shootings fell to the lowest levels<\/a> on record statewide.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, some areas of the city remain disproportionately impacted by gun violence<\/a>, but it\u2019s a trend that the HOPE initiative aims to reverse.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a trend that the HOPE initiative aims to reverse.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re continuing to invest in the communities most impacted by violence,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cThe HOPE initiative will create safe, supportive spaces for young people and families, helping break cycles of violence and making our state safer for all.\u201d<\/p>\n Deputy Commissioner for The Office of Youth Justice at the NYS Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), Damon Bacote, told amNewYork that these funds will go toward supporting brick-and-mortar locations that can provide safety and a wide range of activities and services for younger New Yorkers from childhood into early adulthood. He said DCJS wants to support these safe havens\u2019 operations through the crucial evening hours and weekends<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aAll these places we\u2019re looking at, we want to make sure that they kind of foster this healing, connection, skill building through culturally relevant and trauma informed programming,\u201d Bacote said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re hoping that they\u2019re designed to interrupt the cycles of violence and promote youth wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n The initiative also promised to prioritize funding organizations that already have close ties to the communities they serve.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe are investing in the communities most impacted by gun violence by creating trusted neighborhood havens that foster safety, healing, and opportunity,\u201d New York State Office of Gun Violence Prevention Director Calliana S. Thomas said, \u201cJust as importantly, this model builds the capacity of local grassroots organizations, ensuring that the leadership, resources, and solutions are rooted in the communities closest to the work.\u201d<\/p>\n But that may be a tall order for the small, grassroots organizations the HOPE initiative is looking to fund. Bacote told amNewYork that the state wanted these safe havens to offer an ambitious array of programming and services, from things like physical activities, to STEM programs, arts programming, outdoor activities and even social services like counseling or music therapy.<\/p>\n It is organizations with the deepest roots in communities that will have the most success in outreach, Bacote argued. A consistent complaint to both elected officials and reporters by families in areas impacted by gun violence is a lack of safe, accessible programming for young people. But Bacote said that community organizations\u2014 especially with an influx of funding\u2014 are well placed to raise awareness of the safe options.<\/p>\n He said the funding can be used to make the programs more accessible to young people.\n<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aWhen necessary and appropriate there is a piece of this program that we\u2019re going to provide safe transportation options for participants,\u201d Bacote said. \u201cThis could include a fare for subway or bus transit, arranged car service, walking companion, because we want to ensure accessibility and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n The deadline for grant applications is noon on July 1, 2026, but DCJS will answer any questions about the request for applications as long as they are submitted by Wednesday, April 29, 2026. The agency also has resources to help organizations with applications on its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gov. Kathy Hochul Don Pollard\/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday that the state will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[895,24100,787,9,56,63,65,64,76844,49285,76845],"class_list":{"0":"post-192162","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-governor-kathy-hochul","9":"tag-grants","10":"tag-gun-violence","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-ny","13":"tag-nyc","14":"tag-nyc-headlines","15":"tag-nyc-news","16":"tag-violence-interrupters","17":"tag-youth-crime","18":"tag-youth-programming"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}