Project Safe Neighborhood grant (Western WA)

PROJECT SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS FY2021 PROGRAM ABSTRACT
Western District of Washington

The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), as the fiscal agent for the Western District of Washington’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Team, submits this application for the FY 2021 PSN grant on behalf of the Western District of Washington. This grant will serve the District over an estimated 24-month period.

The PSN Team is comprised of representatives from the Kent Police Department, Burien Police Department, Seattle Police Department and King County Prosecutor’s Office. The PSN Team has solicited feedback from community partners in the process of developing a PSN strategy. The PSN Team’s strategic goals are to reduce violence by expanding the capacity of community-based organizations who are working to engage at-risk teens and young adults in PSN target areas and improve relationships between community and police.

The PSN Team will award PSN FY 2021 grant funds to community groups that will implement a place-based violence prevention and intervention strategy. The prevention and intervention projects will focus on outreach to at-risk teens and young adults who reside or congregate in identified hotspots in south and southwest King County, Washington, that experience high rates of violent crime. These hotspots have been identified through a combination of data analysis and qualitative feedback from law enforcement and community partners. Community partners will engage at-risk youth in these hotspot areas by providing prosocial activities, adult mentorship, and opportunities to practice social and emotional skills that improve decision-making in high-stakes situations. These are evidence-based strategies to build protective factors that prevent engagement in gun violence.

The PSN Team will also award PSN FY 2021 grant funds to a community organization that will facilitate community-building events between law enforcement and police, with the goal of designing a media product that can be shared to promote community engagement in public safety.