This week, grassroots organizations and community leaders demanded more city funding for gun violence prevention. Reclaim Philadelphia and CeasefirePA both held events ahead of Mayor Jim Kenney’s budget proposal on April 15th.
One meeting engaged in conversations about the need for front line community resources, while the other made a concrete monetary demand from city hall.
Philadelphia saw nearly 500 murders in 2020, and the rate of violence in 2021 is set to outpace last year’s numbers.
Reclaim’s discussion with community organizations focused on needs for funds that directly reach those at the front lines of gun violence prevention, not third parties. Some organizers said that politicians simply don’t know what’s best for neighborhoods that bear the brunt of community violence.
CeasefirePA and supporting organizations sent an open letter to Mayor Kenney requesting that the city’s budget include $100 million for violence prevention organizations over the next 3 years.
Demands for grassroots organization funding come one week after Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw asked City Council for more police funds. The $1.6 million increase would buy the police department new technology that they say would improve their 50% conviction rate for homicides.