Marcus Delgado, Deputy Secretary of Administration | Pennsylvania Department Of Education
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis visited Bradford County to spotlight efforts by local organizations to enhance community safety and reduce domestic violence. The visit underscored the role of organizations in rural areas such as Towanda, which benefit from the state's Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) grant program.
"The great thing about the VIP program is that it supports a wide range of models and relies on local organizations, like SAFE, that are in tune with what their community needs," stated Davis, who chairs the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). "With this year's proposed budget, the Governor and I want to increase funding for VIP grants by an additional $10 million. We know these programs and strategies work. We need to get them into more communities."
The PCCD recently distributed $45 million in VIP grant funding to 66 organizations across Pennsylvania, from a pool of nearly 190 applicants. The proposed budget for 2025-26 aims to boost funding for the VIP program by $10 million.
The event featured several speakers, including Heather McNett from SAFE, Rep. Tina Pickett, Commissioner Zachary Gates, Jared Davis from ARCC, and Mercedes Meuse, a SAFE board member.
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