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Cohen: New Funding Will Help Memphis Address and Prevent Youth Violence

October 1, 2014

[MEMPHIS, TN] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced a total of $834,460 in federal funds to fight and prevent youth violence in the Ninth District. The funding, which comes just days after Congressman Cohen announced $850,000 to fight youth violence in schools, was awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) through two individual grants to the City of Memphis as well as to Shelby County.

“As we have recently witnessed, more must be done to address and prevent youth violence in Memphis and to keep our community safe,” said Congressman Cohen. “This funding will be a valuable asset as we work to address the underlying causes of youth violence and prevent bad behavior before it becomes a bigger problem.”

Shelby County will use its $612,260 grant from OJJDP for the Network for Overcoming Violence and Abuse (NOVA) initiative, which is focused on reaching families early to enable them to take full advantage of services and opportunities that will help improve their lives. Specifically, this funding will help expand trauma-informed education, continue to offer family and youth violence prevention assistance, and engage at-risk individuals in violence prevention strategies.

The City of Memphis will use its $222,200 grant from OJJDP to strengthen the Memphis Forum on Youth Violence Prevention program in three high-need schools in Southeast Memphis and enhance the city’s youth violence prevention plan.