California Moms Demand Action, Everytown Applaud California Mayors for Calling for Increased Funding for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program
4.30.2019
A Coalition of Eight Members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Sent a Letter to Governor Gavin Newsom Calling for Additional Funding
Earlier this Month, a Coalition of California Big City Mayors Sent a Letter to California Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon Calling for Additional Funding
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, today applauded California mayors from across the state for asking Governor Newsom and state lawmakers to increase funding for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program (CalVIP) to $39 million and for needed reforms to the program.
“California’s mayors are speaking out in support of this vital program because they know additional resources for local violence reduction programs work to keep our communities safer,” said Clare Senchyna, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and a member of the Everytown Survivor Network whose 26-year-old son, Camilo Senchyna-Beltran, was shot and killed in San Francisco in 2014. “We couldn’t be more grateful for their commitment to ending gun violence in all its forms. California’s gun laws are some of the strongest in the country, but we must do more to stop violence in our cities. Increased funding for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program will mean safer communities in California and we call on Gov. Newsom to recognize the need for more funding.”
Friday, eight members of Mayors Against Illegal Guns sent a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom outlining the life-saving impacts of programs funded by CalVIP and calling for Gov. Newsom to increase funding to $39 million annually.
Earlier this month, a coalition of mayors from California’s biggest cities delivered a letter to California President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, asking for funding levels for CalVIP to be increased to $39 million.
CalVIP supports community-based violence intervention programs that apply a localized approach to address gun violence in California’s hardest hit neighborhoods. While California is a leader in gun safety laws, CalVIP remains underfunded. Volunteers with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action have joined a coalition with more than 25 member organizations — inclusive of mayors’ offices, local violence intervention and prevention groups and gun violence prevention advocates — to call for Gov. Newsom to appropriate $39 million per year toward the CalVIP program. Funding levels for CalVIP were set in 2007 and have not been increased since then.
If you’re interested in learning more about CalVIP, please don’t hesitate to reach out and you can learn more here.