PEEKSKILL – State Senator Pete Harckham has secured two anti-gun violence initiative grants totaling $100,000 for City of Peekskill programs – one for the city and the other for Black Diamonds Academic Success, Inc., a nonprofit organization focusing on youth achievement.
“Peekskill is really a small town – everyone knows each other – including perpetrator and victim, so it is essential that young people learn skills to resolve disputes and conflicts peacefully,” he said. The state grants will allow the city’s leadership to work collaboratively throughout the community to address the problem of gun violence, Harckham said.
“While policing is part of it and we certainly thank the police chief and his great crew here in Peekskill, we look at the holistic factors – good schools with robust after-school programs, access to healthcare, access to jobs, good housing, robust community organizations,” he said.
The city intends to use its grant funding to work with young men ages 18 to 24 with a program that deals with career objectives and mental health issues.
Black Diamonds is creating programs with its funding to engage the community and hear its concerns, bolster youth leadership and violence prevention/intervention efforts and expose youth to criminal justice systems and innovative achievement-oriented organizations as a way to offer educational opportunities and career preparations.
