Source: NorthJersey.com
Less than two weeks after news reports disclosed the state’s plans not to renew funding for violent crime victim-support programs, New Jersey hospital-based programs that help them have gained a reprieve from ending their funding as the Gov. Phil Murphy administration has changed its mind about ending their funding
New Jersey’s hospital-based anti-violence programs got $20 million from the federal Victims of Crime Act for their first two years of operation. The state then extended the support for another fiscal year, which will end Sept. 30. But New Jersey’s funding under the federal victims’ program has been decreasing in recent years, from $60 million in 2019 to $44 million in 2020 and $25 million last year. In July, the state began notifying the programs that another wave of funding was not on the way.
Liza Chowdhury, director of The Paterson Healing Collective, which works in conjunction with St. Joseph’s Health, said they were “pleased to learn that the governor has heard our calls to action so that we can keep doing the life-changing and lifesaving work we have been doing for the last two years.”
“We are grateful for this critical funding on behalf of our many partners,” said Kevin Slavin, St. Joseph’s CEO.
“New Jersey will continue its ground-breaking efforts in violence intervention programming by disrupting cycles of violence before they start,” state acting Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement. “I applaud the challenging, but essential, work of our hospital and community partners and will continue to champion these programs.”
The reprieved programs are:
St. Joseph’s (Paterson)
The Center for Family Services (Camden)
Trinitas Health Foundation (Elizabeth)
AtlantiCare (Atlantic City)
Capital Health (Trenton)
Jersey City Medical Center (Jersey City)
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (New Brunswick)
University Hospital (Newark)
Jersey Shore University Medical Center/Monmouth (Asbury Park, Neptune, Long Branch)
“Our survivors and community members rely on our services, and we could not afford to lose the resources that positively impact their lives,” Chowdhury said. “We look forward to continued efforts to sustain [the programs] in the future.”