This is in support of leading a statewide effort to strengthen collaboration and develop community-driven strategies to prevent gun violence and save lives.
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis assembled 14 multidisciplinary county and city teams in Harrisburg for Pennsylvania’s first-ever Gun Violence Prevention Symposium.
This is in support of leading a statewide effort to strengthen collaboration and develop community-driven strategies to prevent gun violence and save lives.
The symposium follows several incidents of gun violence across the Commonwealth over the past week. A highlight of the symposium included an interactive strategic local action-planning workshop, where selected county and city teams worked alongside peers and national experts to strengthen and coordinate local gun violence prevention efforts.
“Every life lost to gun violence is one too many, and families and communities across Pennsylvania continue to feel its devastating impact,” said Davis, Chair of Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). “We’ve invested more than $180 million in violence prevention efforts because we know communities need resources and support to address this issue.”
The PCCD’s Office of Victims’ Services (OVS) supports communities in the aftermath of these traumatic events through a network of victim service programs and statewide resources, including the Victims Compensation Assistance Program, the Lethality Assessment Program and the Keystone Crisis Intervention Team.
“But funding alone isn’t enough,” Davis said. “We need local leaders, law enforcement, health care professionals and community organizations working together to understand what’s happening in their communities and develop strategies that save lives. That’s what today is about – turning collaboration into action.”