Lofgren Announces $250k Federal Grant to Prevent Youth Violence in Monterey County

SALINAS, CA - Today, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) announced that Monterey County has received $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Preventing Violence Affecting Young Lives (PREVAYL) funding opportunity. This grant will be used to extend the Monterey County Health Department's STRYVE Program for another year, which implements evidence-based approaches to prevent youth violence.

"One of my top priorities in Congress is ensuring that our communities are secure and healthy places to live and raise a family," said Rep. Lofgren. "I am very glad to see that Monterey County is receiving this federal funding that will be used to continue its youth violence prevention efforts. The data shows that we're making progress, but there is still work to be done, and we need to continue creating an environment where young people feel safe."

"As a longtime partner of the Community Alliance for Safety and Peace (CASP), I've been deeply invested in violence prevention work in Salinas, and proud of our results that show we are successfully keeping our children safe," said Wendy Root Askew, Chair of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. "We are grateful to have the strong support of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren who secured funds needed to continue this critical work."

The PREVAYL program is administered by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Monterey County Health Department began its STRYVE (Striving to Reduce Youth Violence Everywhere) Program in 2011, making it one of only four public health departments in the country to receive this funding. Since the start of this program, Monterey County went from having the highest levels of youth violence in California(link is external) to seeing declining juvenile arrests and violent assaults (link is external)of youth aged 10-24.

The funding will support youth violence prevention initiatives including:

• Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) in schools, where students help identify environmental conditions that contribute to safety concerns and develop strategies to improve those spaces and student social cohesion
• That's Not Cool, a social media and youth engagement campaign developed by Futures Without Violence to prevent teen dating violence and intimate partner violence
• Staff support for the continued development of a countywide violence prevention strategic plan, including coordination with community partners and alignment of state violence prevention efforts

Funded activities are currently focused primarily on the 93905 and 93906 ZIP codes in Salinas, which were identified as priority areas based on violence and health data.

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