SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, today applauded Gov. Newsom for including $27 million in funding for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program (CalVIP) in his revise budget released today. Today’s increase to $27 million is a significant increase, as the program received just $9 million last year.
“Gov. Newsom demonstrated today that he knows just how important community-based violence intervention programs are to saving lives in our communities,” said Krystal Lopilato, a volunteer with the California chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “This increased funding for the California Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant Program will mean increased safety in the communities hardest hit by gun violence. This is a great step to reducing gun violence, and we look forward to working with the governor and the legislature to ensure California continues to lead the way in ending gun violence. We thank Gov. Newsom for his commitment to gun violence prevention.”
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 30 member organizations — inclusive of mayors’ offices, local violence intervention and prevention groups and gun violence prevention advocates — to call for Gov. Newsom to increase funding for the CalVIP program.
