WASHINGTON – The US Department of Homeland Security will be hosting nine webinars between January and March to give faith-based, community, and nonprofit partners, such as churches and synagogues, across the nation, including those in Rockland County, an overview of the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
US Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congresswoman Nita Lowey pushed for the programs following the machete attack on a Hanukkah celebration in December at a rabbi’s Monsey home in which five people were wounded, one seriously.
“Rockland community members, who remain shaken after enduring a cowardly act of pure evil, should not have to feel vulnerable sitting in their houses of worship while dropping their kids off at school in the morning, or while heading down to the local JCC or other local faith-based community center,” said Schumer.
Gillibrand echoed the senior senator’s sentiments and said they would also like state and federal officials to hold a public forum in Rockland to help faith-based community organizations secure resources available.
“Our friends and neighbors in Rockland County deserve the freedom to worship in peace,” said Lowey. “That is why I established a nonprofit security grant program for communities outside of Urban Areas Security Initiative jurisdictions in 2018 and increased the funding for this program by 300 percent. The work is far from over, and I look forward to assisting our federal and state partners to bolster Rockland entities’ efforts to secure these essential funds to keep our communities safe.”
