Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
NEWARK, N.J. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and Chair of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism, and Senator Menendez (D-N.J.) announced $1 million in Fiscal Year 2023 federal funding for the launch of a no-cost summer camp as well as year-round support services for youth in violence-impacted and disadvantaged areas in Cumberland County. The announcement comes after Senator Booker held a roundtable discussion last summer with Cumberland County Prosecutor Jennifer Webb-McRae, elected officials, and advocates on federally funded community violence intervention initiatives.
“Addressing the gun violence epidemic and interrupting cycles of violence, especially among our youth, require a comprehensive, community-oriented approach like the one Cumberland County has undertaken,” said Senator Booker. “I met last summer with Cumberland County officials and the dedicated organizations working to keep their communities safe, and our discussion renewed my conviction that we must invest in their life-saving work. I will always fight to bring home resources for research-backed initiatives like this that keep our youth from becoming involved in the criminal justice system and help our communities thrive.”
The federal grant announced today will provide funding to purchase equipment and hire staff for the camp, which will also include 30,000 hours of supportive services to area youth between the age of 10 and 24, year-round case management services to address physical and mental health, mentoring for academic success, and economic mobility by an array of licensed providers. The program will also expand access to area Police Athletic Leagues and local recreational activities through increased funding, training of youth/young adult volunteers, and addressing barriers to youth engagement.
“This grant, and the people who will coordinate the funding, are setting into motion concrete action. They aren’t just talking about making a difference for local kids, they’re taking action,” said Senator Menendez. “Because far too often, the work that goes on in Washington can feel disconnected from the residents and citizens it affects. But today, as we come together to announce federal dollars going towards Cumberland County, I know that committed public servants like Amy, Jennifer, and John will use this funding to benefit the kids who call this area home. And as result, I know that Cumberland County’s best days are still to come.”
“Each year we receive more than 400 visits that are related to violence of some kind at Inspira Medical Center Vineland,” said Amy B. Mansue, President and CEO of Inspira Health. “We urgently need to correct this problem, and this initiative and these funds are critically important to helping curb the cycle of violence in this community.”
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, in 2020, the most recent year for which full data is available, the violent crime rate for NJ was 195.4 crimes per 100,000 people while the national average was 398.5 crimes per 100,000 people. Cumberland County was more than double New Jersey’s and significantly higher than the U.S. as a whole at a rate of 421.2 violent crimes per 100,000 residents. In Bridgeton, along with the County’s two other major municipalities (Millville, and Vineland), Controlled Dangerous Substance with a Weapon arrests increased by 14.3% from 2018 to 2021 but increased by 300% for youth and young adults aged 10-25 years old.
“The Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office is committed to violence prevention and intervention efforts aimed at improving outcomes for at-risk youth. I thank Senators Menendez and Booker, as well as Congressman Van Drew, for securing the funding for the Cumberland County Youth Violence Cessation Initiative,” said Jennifer Webb-McRae, Cumberland County Prosecutor. “This program will increase the collective impact of our community-based organizations by increasing access to resources and activities which support youth living in communities most impacted by violence. This truly is a foundational investment in public safety that will pay dividends in Cumberland County for years to come.”
“At Life Worth Living, our mottos are #WeBetterTogether and #DoTheWork,” said John Fuqua, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Life Worth Living – a non-profit organization that focuses on youth development. “This bipartisan funding will allow this coalition to work together to actually do the work!”
Senator Booker has been a proponent of evidence-based community violence intervention strategies. He is the only Senator who goes home to a low-income community that is disproportionately affected by violent crime caused by the easy availability of guns. As a result, Booker has been a forceful advocate for common-sense gun safety laws during his time in the Senate. He first introduced the Federal Firearm Licensing Act in 2019. He also introduced the Break the Cycle of Violence Act, legislation that would provide federal grants to communities for gun violence intervention and prevention programs designed to interrupt cycles of violence. Research has shown that a combination of community-oriented intervention programs and commonsense gun control policies can reduce gun violence rates. He was also a part of a bipartisan group of 20 Senators who signed on to a framework outlining the proposal to address the gun violence epidemic that resulted in the passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022.