The US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration funds 100%, or $900,000, of program costs for the Community Project Grant – Hilco/CEO.
Allegheny County – January 16, 2025 – Today, Senator Wayne Fontana announced a total of $8,636,483 in state funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) for agencies and organizations that serve the people of the 42nd District. These grants provide funding for structured programming opportunities for at-risk school-age youth and violence intervention and prevention initiatives.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis hosted a roundtable conversation to tackle the issue, with local officials and community members commenting on the initiatives they’re taking to find solutions. “Some people think that this [gun violence] is just a Harrisburg issue, or a Philadelphia issue or a Pittsburgh issue,” Davis said. “I want to be clear that this is a Pennsylvania issue, and it is uniquely an American issue. But it’s an issue that we can and must do something about.”
Rasheed Abdus says when he got out of prison four years ago, at age 21, he struggled to find a job. “Maybe cause I didn’t know how to use a computer,” he said. A friend connected him to the Center for Employment Opportunities, a national work readiness organization with a Philadelphia chapter, and he started cleaning up parks in Kensington. Now, he’s learning to train other formerly incarcerated people.
Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon announced $1 million in new federal funding she recently secured to support a workforce training program for formerly incarcerated Philadelphians. It is one of 10 Community Project Funding awards, formerly known as earmarks, Scanlon delivered for her district through the Fiscal Year 2022 federal government funding package passed by Congress in March.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, Philadelphia officials said they are trying to expand one of their key gun violence prevention programs.