In a letter to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and legislators, 100 groups from across the state asked for a $1 billion investment in community-based solutions to combat gun violence.
Along with Gov. Hochul, the letter was sent to state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousin and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. Advocates are hoping for additional funds to strengthen already-existing community programs and create new initiatives.
“It’s imperative that we get these funds to groups that are currently operating successfully right now, but we also need to ensure that there is a process for the development and funding of new programs because many cities and other areas have no programming at all for either community-based gun violence intervention or survivor services,” said Nick Encalada-Malinowski of VOCAL-NY, one of the organizations that signed the letter, according to Ithaca Journal.
Hochul has previously stated that she would like $224 million set aside in state budget plan for gun violence prevention programs.
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