State allocates $11M in Shannon grants to address gang violence

The Executive Office of Public Safety and Security on Dec. 16 announced the allocation of nearly $11.2 million to 15 sites through the Shannon Community Safety Initiative for fiscal 2025 grants aimed at reducing gang and youth violence.

Funds were allocated to Boston and Brookline, Brockton, Fall River, Fitchburg and Gardner, Haverhill and Methuen, Holyoke and Chicopee, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Springfield, Taunton, and Worcester.

Additionally, local action research partners associated with the Shannon grant sites received approximately $800,000 to enhance these efforts.

The Shannon Community Safety Initiative, established in 2006 and named for the late Sen. Charles Shannon, is a multi-pronged approach to help address a community’s gang and youth violence problem. The initiative targets five specific areas: social intervention, suppression, opportunity provision, organizational change, and community mobilization.

Shannon grants are open to multi-disciplinary groups working to address high levels of gang violence in their geographic area. Multiple municipalities may apply together as a regional collaborative group.

For fiscal 2025, the Legislature also allocated a portion of the available program funding to bolster public housing violence prevention initiatives.

The Racism-based Violence Injury and Prevention Lab at Boston College also received $75,000 to assess how early life trauma impacts individuals incarcerated in Massachusetts for violent offenses.