Justice Department Awards More Than $17.5 Million to Support Project Safe Neighborhoods

FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Department of Justice announced today that it has awarded more than 
$17.5 million in grants to support the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program. Funding will 
support efforts across the country to address violent crime, including the gun violence that is 
often at its core. Hoyleton Youth and Family Services was awarded $94,446 to administer PSN grant 
funds in the Southern District of Illinois.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), part of the department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), 
will administer the 88 grant awards, which are being made to designated fiscal agents to support 
local PSN projects that work in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.

“This latest Project Safe Neighborhoods grant is critical to addressing the violent crime 
threatening cities and towns all across our country,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. 
“Ensuring the safety of all Americans is the highest priority for the Department of Justice, but 
when it comes to violent crime, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We must work closely 
with local public safety agencies as well as community organizations to craft individual strategies 
unique to each community’s needs. Programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the funding it 
provides allow us to do just that.”

Grant funds will support  the efforts to reduce crimes in East St. Louis by focusing on violent 
individuals and collaborating with community partners to address conditions that contribute to 
violent  crimes.  The  grant  will  also  support  the  implementation  of  a  “co-responder  
model”  in responding  to  homicides  and  non-fatal  shootings  by  having  trauma  teams  provide 
 immediate services to child victims, witnesses, and their families followed by long term trauma 
intervention follow up services. With approval from BJA, the Fiscal Agent will begin the process of 
making subawards for PSN grant projects.

“Investing in our communities, supporting victims and building a justice system that both keeps 
people safe and earns their trust – these are mutually reinforcing goals that stand at the heart of 
Project Safe Neighborhoods,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon for 
OJP. “The Office of Justice Programs is pleased to join with our U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and with 
jurisdictions across the country, as we work together to meet the challenges of crime and
violence and achieve our shared aspirations of public safety and community trust.”

In May 2021, Attorney  General Merrick B. Garland announced a new effort to reduce violent crime,  
including  the  gun  violence  that  is  often  at  its  core.  Integral  to  that  effort  was  
the reinvigoration  of  PSN,  a  two-decade  old  evidence-based  and  community-oriented  program 
focused  on  reducing  violent  crime.  The  updated  PSN  approach,  outlined  in  the  
department’s Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime issued by Deputy Attorney General 
Monaco, is guided by four key principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, 
supporting community-based   organizations   that   help   prevent   violence,   setting   focused  
 and   strategic enforcement priorities and measuring the results of our efforts. The fundamental 
goal is to reduce violent crime, not simply to increase the number of arrests or prosecutions.

This fall, U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country have enhanced their violent crime reduction 
efforts  to  ensure  alignment  with  the  department’s  comprehensive  violent  crime  reduction 
strategy. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices have engaged in outreach to law enforcement and other agencies 
and organizations serving communities to identify the most significant drivers of violence in their 
districts. Working together with a broad coalition of stakeholders, the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices are 
addressing the most pressing violent crime issues in their district to make our neighborhoods safer 
for all.

PSN  programs  are  led  by  U.S.  Attorneys’  Offices  in  collaboration  with  local  public  
safety agencies,  community  stakeholders  and  other  agencies  and  organizations  that  work  to 
 reduce violent crime.

The Office of Justice Programs provide federal leadership, grants, training, technical assistance, 
and other resources to improve the nation’s capacity to prevent and reduce crime, advance racial 
equity in the administration of justice, assist victims and enhance the rule of law. More 
information about OJP and its components can be found at www.ojp.gov.