NEWBURGH – “SNUG” is “guns” spelled backwards and it is a community-based effort in Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and other locations in the region.
In Newburgh, it is run by RECAP – the Regional Economic Community Action Program – and is designed to have volunteers go out into the community when there is a shooting to interact with those involved to get them on the right societal track.
RECAP Chief Operating Officer Michele McKeon said their Newburgh SNUG program goes beyond that.
- “They work until 11 o’clock at night to make sure they are meeting the needs of the community and I don’t just mean creating interactions around gun violence, I mean do you need a coat, do you need food, we’re addressing social determinants of health and we are doing it by addressing gun violence, by looking at the public health response,” she said.
McKeon noted gun violence is a symptom of a larger problem – of poverty, of health, insecure housing, insecure food accessibility.
By addressing all of those issues, she said it lowers the violence and creates opportunities for people.
The program is funded through the state government.
