BUFFALO — U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that the Justice Department has awarded grant funding to 17 organizations totaling $10,369,180, to support criminal justice initiatives across the Western District of New York.
“These grants have been awarded to a variety of school districts, police departments, social service agencies, and local governments across the 17 counties of the Western District of New York,” stated U.S. Attorney Ross. “The funding will be used to address deadly gun violence, human trafficking, and provide services to victims of crime. The funding will also allow a number of the grantee organizations to be proactive, focusing on youth suicide prevention, mentoring, and youth engagement.”
Grants have been awarded to address the following areas:
Human Trafficking:
• The International Institute of Buffalo has been awarded three grants totaling $2,015,000 to combat human trafficking through collaboration between law enforcement and service providers, to provide housing assistance grants to victims of human trafficking, and to provide services for youth victims of labor trafficking.
• The Erie County Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project, Inc. has been awarded $800,000 to provide legal services to victims of human trafficking.
• Erie County has been awarded $750,000 for efforts to combat human trafficking.
Victims Services:
• The Seneca Nation of Indians has been awarded $422,695 to provide culturally appropriate victim services.
Services for Youth:
• Compeer West, Inc. has been awarded $1,200,000 to support expansion of its multi-state mentoring program.
• The Sodus Central School District has been awarded $999,936. Sodus, along with the Lyons and Newark Central School Districts, will serve five high need rural school buildings. The Forming Attachment to Reduce Risk program will improve student safety for over 1,900 students.
• The North Rose-Wolcott Central School District has been awarded $989,902 for the Improving School Safety by Re-Engaging Youth Initiative. The district will partner with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office to focus on 9th – 12th graders.
• The Seneca Falls School District has been awarded $526,191 to focus, along with the Romulus and South Seneca School Districts, on preventing youth suicide. With a high rate of suicide in Seneca County, the district will focus on training, prevention, and intervention to respond to student mental health in an effort reduce the number of students who contemplate, attempt, and/or commit suicide.
• The Olean City School District has been awarded $424,997 from the COPS School Violence Prevention Program for school safety measures in and around primary and secondary schools.
Law Enforcement Initiatives:
• Monroe County has been awarded $436,734 to ease the backlog of items awaiting DNA testing at the Monroe County Crime Laboratory.
• The City of Buffalo has been awarded $257,047 to support criminal justice initiatives.
• The City of Rochester has been awarded $164,896 for violence prevention, crisis intervention services, and victims assistance.
• Erie County has been awarded $45,000 to prosecute cold cases using DNA in Buffalo and Erie County.
• The City of Niagara Falls has been awarded $40,648 to support criminal justice initiatives.
• The Research Foundation for the State University of New York at Geneseo has been awarded $27,399 for police body worn cameras for the SUNY Geneseo Police Department.
• The City of Jamestown has been awarded $18,150 to purchase portable radios for the Jamestown Police Department.
Reentry and Recidivism Initiatives:
• Monroe County has been awarded $700,000 for its Swift, Certain, and Fair Program, which focuses on reducing recidivism of firearm offenders.
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Rochester has been awarded $218,413 to support the Steuben and Livingston Counties Second Chance Reentry Program.
Opiate Initiatives:
• Chautauqua County has been awarded $899,910 to create the Chautauqua Comprehensive Addiction Response and Evaluation System (Chautauqua CARES), a county-wide, multi-sector network of law enforcement, behavioral health, and other community agencies collaborating to increase the accessibility, timeliness, and effectiveness of help for individuals with substance use disorders and their families.
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