The Office of Policy and Strategic Initiatives for Criminal Justice & Public Safety (CJPS) is excited to announce its 6th Cohort of Targeted Community Investment Grants (TCIG) grantees!
What is TCIG?
The Targeted Community Investment Grant program funds community-based violence prevention programs and activities that improve public safety, increase opportunities for self-development and care, and build a stronger sense of community throughout neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.
TCIG grantees have trauma-informed approaches to gun violence, build resiliency in their communities, mediate conflicts, and promote social or economic empowerment. Examples of past programs include, but are not limited to:
- Resource fairs
- Outreach events
- Job training and career development
- Neighborhood and community beautification
- Education events and workshops
- Community engagement
Who are the TCIG 6th Cohort Grantees?
| Organization / Project Name | Award Amount | Description |
| #YouGoodMan? Men’s Wellness Program | $12,000 | Serving the Northeast and West Philadelphia area, this program provides informal talk therapy services provided by licensed clinical social workers and physical strength training programming.
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| A Home is a Right (AHARI) Recast – Resilience in the Community | $20,000 | Serving West Philadelphia and North Philadelphia, AHARI provides young people with services similar to what is offered to military veterans. AHARI provides permanent supportive housing to veterans at risk of homelessness, homeless veterans, and their families.
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| Black Girls Love Math (BGLM) Place-Based Solutions for Healing
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$10,000 | Operating out of North Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, and Northeast Philadelphia, BGLM is a community program that offers young people tools for gun violence education, advocacy, activism, and social-emotional learning. Youth are supported through trauma-informed practices. |
| Building Dreams – All You Can Teach | $10,000 | Serving South Philadelphia, Building Dreams creates safe spaces for youth to relax, explore their interests, and engage in their passions in an environment that promotes unity and community. |
| A New Dawn Incorporated – Building Garden Beds for Mill Creek | $8,000 | Based in Mill Creek, Building Gardens for Mill Creek empowers youth through mentorship, gardening, and skill training |
| Building Healthy Communities within Families
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$10,000 | Operating from South and West Philadelphia, Building Healthy Communities Within Families’ mission is to advocate for youth and families, empower communities, and assist with access to educational systems, health-care services, and mental health resources.
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| CurrentlyTrending – Currently Trending Summer High School Leadership Retreat | $8,000 | Serving West, North, and Northwest Philadelphia, CurrentlyTrending aims to increase the on track to graduation rate among 9th graders in Philadelphia’s most challenged high schools. The program will provide incoming high school students with the tools necessary to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally in the high school setting. |
| MyNEWPhilly – Digital Media Incubator
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$10,000 | Operating in North Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia, West Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia, and South Philadelphia the MyNEWPhilly Incubator provides youth and young adults with opportunities to learn usesable skills in the digital media and content creation space. The program will also introduce students to varying professional roles for digital media content creators. |
| From the Block to the Board Room
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$8,000 | From the Block to the Boardroom serves Northwest, North Central, and North Philadelphia. Participants will have access to a network of mentors and peers providing them with ongoing support and guidance as they navigate the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. |
| Beloved Care Project Inc. – Healing Circles
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$15,000 | Serving West Philadelphia, the Beloved Care Project Inc. Healing Circles aims to activate and empower youth between the ages of 13-24. The program will discuss trauma, anger, grief, and loss in safe communal spaces; raise awareness about gun violence, and get involved in their communities through projects like rallies and street cleanups. |
| Taller Puertorriqueño – Healing Trauma Through the Arts | $15,000 | Operating in North Philadelphia, Taller Puertorriqueño will host a series of group grief counseling sessions and community events in August – September 2023 that creates space for processing communal grief related to gun violence. Programming will include outdoor film screenings, trauma-informed artmaking, and wellness sources. |
| Ordinarie Heroes – Inspire Mentoring Program
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$15,660 | Serving Northeast Philadelphia and North Philadelphia, the Inspire Mentoring Program mission is to empower youth by providing safe spaces where they can focus on developing life skills and personal growth. |
| Mentor Leaders Produce Mentor Leaders – Kings University
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$19,000 | Kings University will serve North Philadelphia, Southwest Philadelphia, and West Philadelphia. The program’s mission is to position youth to be leaders in their communities and mitigate gun violence through their actions, newfound knowledge, and leadership abilities. |
| Why Not Prosper Inc. – Let’s Get Still Meditation Initiative | $10,000 | The Let’s Get Still Meditation Initiative will teach the community new skills and tools to address their trauma and build resiliency. The program will also give community members a safe place to release fear and anxiety. |
| Learn Something Education – Literacy in the Park | $10,000 | Operating in North Philadelphia, Northeast Philadelphia, and West Philadelphia, the project promotes community engagement workshops, literacy workshops, and enhancing self-esteem. |
| Men of Courage
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$40,000 | Men of Courage offers early intervention initiatives to reshape the identify of black and brown male youth in Philadelphia. Workshops focus on professional, personal, and community development.
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| Minding Me – Trauma Sensitive Mindfulness Programming
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$19,450 | Based in North and Northwest Philadelphia, Minding Me seeks to build participant’s knowledge about their own ability to regulate their emotional response to trauma. |
| Minority Center for Participation & Empowerment – Anti-Violence Summer Program
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$10,000 | Operating in Southwest Philadelphia and West Philadelphia, this project serves people age 16-24 and 25-34. The program promotes peaceful conflict resolution and reducing violence among young people in the community. The program will educate on non-violent communication, teach conflict resolution, and provide resources and support to those affected by violence.
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| Mission Incorporated – Philly Peace in Progress – Parent Dinner Club Program | $8,000 | This program will serve West Philadelphia young and young adult parents, age 17-35. The curriculum focuses on providing educational parenting worshops and resources to parents. |
| Photography Without Borders – Photography and Video Arts Education for Philadelphia Youth | $10,000 | Serving North Philadelphia, this grant will help Photography Without Borders expand their photography program at Taller Puertorriqueño. |
| EleganceXtreme Inc. – Positive Choices With Actions
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$10,000 | Based in West Philadelphia, the Positive Choices program will equip youth and young adults in Philadelphia with life skills and conflict resolution skills. The program hopes to encourage young people to become positive members of society.
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| Positive Movement Entertainment Drumline
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$12,000 | Serving North, East, North Central, and Northwest Philadelphia, Positive Movement believes that drumming promotes positivity, healing and community unity. |
| NorfSide Buccs Mentoring & Athletics Inc. – Pull Flags, Shoot Hoops, Not Guns | $15,000 | Operating in North Philadelphia, NorfSide Buccs engages young people in sports and other collaborative activities. The program also focuses on anger management training. |
| Softly Rugged – Reclaim Your Mind
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$10,000 | Softly Rugged serves the West Philadelphia community through its mission of decreasing mental trauma due to gun violence through acceptance and commitment therapy. |
| Sankofa Healing Studio – Rhyme and REASON (Resiliency and Empowerment through Art, Sound, and Outreach in Neighborhoods)
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$10,000
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Serving North and West Philadelphia, Rhyme and REASON will use hip hop therapy as a tool for healing and empowerment. The project hopes to empower and promote healing among youth and young adults of color at high risk of gun violence. The program will incorporate hip hop culture throughout the program.
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| Roll with Respect – Summer 2 Roll | $10,000 | Roll with Respect operates in Northwest, North, and North Central Philadelphia. The program is a leadership development program providing education, mentorship, and support services to high school students. The program aims to support youth well-being by countering the normalization of disrespectful, selfish, and destructive behavior. |
| Committed Community Mentors, Inc. – Safe Space @ Committed Community
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$10,000
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This program serves Allegheny West. The initiative stems from the successful “Get Fit Violence Reduction Program” implemented at Dobbins CTE Community School and caters to young individuals ages 16-34. |
| Strawberry Mansion Area Renaissance Trust Corporation aka SMART Corporation – School is Cool/Silence the Violence Summer Enrichment Program | $10,000 | Serving North Philadelphia, SMART Corporation connects youth in school wit their community, other students, adult mentors, and local businesses.
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| Shoot Basketballs Not People, Inc. – Basketball & Leadership Camp
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$15,000 | Operating out of Northwest Philadelphia, this program focuses on providing a recreational space/outlet for inner-city youth during the summer to play competitive basketball in a safe environment with adult mentors.
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| Strawberry Mansion Faith Based Coalition – Strawberry Mansion United Initiative
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$20,000 | This program serves North Philadelphia. Its mission is to provide a safe and supportive environment for at-risk youth to develop essential life skills, build positive relationships, and achieve personal growth through mentoring and conflict resolution. |
| The Hand2Paw Foundation – Summer Violence Prevention and Programming for Foster and Homeless Youth at Hand2Paw
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$20,000 | The Hand2Paw Foundation serves Northwest and North Philadelphia. This is a 6-week WorkReady program for 5 youth interns. They will host community pet pantries and start a community helpline for pet owners. This program will demonstrate to young people how they can positively impact the health of animals and the greater community. |
| Neighborhood United Against Drugs / Urban Affairs Coalition – The NUAD Barber Shop Violence Prevention Risk Reduction Intervention
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$20,000 | Based in West, Southwest, and North Philadelphia, this program will facilitate change in behaviors that place young people at risk of inflicting violence against others and will educate them on ways to reduce their personal risk. |
| Fruits of the Family Table – The Repurposed Project | $19,000 | This program serves West and Southwest Philadelphia. The Repurposed Project’s purpose is to reduce violence in West Philadelphia by empowering and educating 21 local West Philadelphians through the use of art, psychotherapeutic instruction, mentorship, and case management support. |
| Ramesu Society International, Inc. – The Venture Crews Resiliency and Leadership Program (VCRLP) | $16,000 | VCRLP will operate in North and Northwest Philadelphia. The program will target at-risk, historically underserved, underrepresented, economically challenged, minority and ethnic populations that are school aged or young adult aged. Participants will engage in leadership workshops, mentoring sequences, group resolution sessions, and more. |
| By Faith Eternal Health Care – The Village that Heals Summer Camp
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$15,000 | The Village that Heals Summer Camp will serve the Kingsessing area. It is a 12-week program that includes a daily summer camp featuring art-based workshops, sports and physical fitness, art projects, and more. |
| First Person Arts – TRIGGER Screenings
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$20,000 | This program will serve North, Northeast, and Southwest Philadelphia. It is a film and screening campaign that uses the power of storytelling to present the first person experiences of people whose lives are forever changed, yet connected, by the destructive path of gun violence.
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| Belfield Advisory Council/Belfield Recreation Center – Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI)
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$10,000 | This program serves Northwest Philadelphia. It uses evidence-informed strategies to reduce violence through tailored community-centered initiatives.
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| Imani Star Development Inc – We Express Ourselves Through Arts
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$15,000 | Serving West Philadelphia, We Express Ourselves Through Arts provides a safe space for youth residing in at-risk neighborhoods prone to violence. It will engage these youth in constructive leisure activities. |
| West Philly Urban Outdoorsmen | $15,000 | This program is based in West Philadelphia. It introduces young people and young fathers to outdoor spaces and activities. |
| Chew and Chelten Community Development Corporation – YO, PUT THE GUN DOWN (A Hip Hop Symphony) Project
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$10,000 | This program serves Northwest Philadelphia. It will use aspects of socially conscious theater and art therapy workshops. The mission of the program is to hire young creative and performing artists and guide them through a therapeutic process of healing and creative expression.
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| Neighborhood Bike Works – Youth Bicycle Education and Empowerment Programs (YBEEP): Summer Camp Programs
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$9,000 | This program serves West Philadelphia. It provides youth development programs aimed at engaging under-resourced youth through bicycle mechanic training and developing bike riding skills. |
TCIG Cohort 5 grantees.
