$45 million in federal aid to be spent on violence prevention, crime victim services, Gov. Evers announces

Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday announced a $45 million allocation of federal pandemic aid for violence prevention and crime victim services that he anticipated would begin reaching communities across Wisconsin within weeks.  

"Much like the pandemic, this is another public health crisis that deserves our attention and our action. And much like any public health issue, it starts with prevention. Violence and its impact on kids, families and communities is not inevitable," Evers said during a news conference at the COA Goldin Center, 2320 W. Burleigh St. in Milwaukee.

Of that sum, $25 million will go to violence prevention, with $8 million allocated to the City of Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention, $6.6 million to the Medical College of Wisconsin's Violence Prevention Project and $10.4 million for a statewide grant for violence prevention work. 

The remaining $20 million will go to helping providers meet higher demand for crime victim services, Evers said. Of that sum, $100,000 will go to the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

The funding is coming from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds the state received.

Milwaukee in particular has seen historic levels of violence, a challenge highlighted by the pace of homicides that has not slowed since a record was set last year at 190.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin slammed Evers' announcement as "too little, too late."

“Transparent attempts to do damage control right before his re-election year are too-little, too late," Republican Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Anna Kelly said in a statement.

The Democratic first-term governor announced this summer that he would run for re-election next year. 

State Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, said at the press conference that providing crime victim services would help create safer communities. 

"We can help empower those victims to escape from the cycle of crime or violence, to help escape from whatever led them to be in difficult situations and help empower them to testify against people who committed crimes against them," he said.

Reggie Moore, director of violence prevention policy and engagement for the Medical College of Wisconsin Comprehensive Injury Center, said the funding was a step toward living up to the priorities set by community members in the city’s Blueprint for Peace.

He also called for commitments from the state and city beyond the American Rescue Plan Act funds each received.

A Common Council committee on Friday will take up a host of spending proposals for federal aid the city received, including one to put $16.8 million into the Office of Violence Prevention. 

The funds coming to the Medical College of Wisconsin will make it possible to provide technical and strategic planning support, evaluation and more to the Office of Violence Prevention in Milwaukee and communities across the state, Moore said.

The $10.4 million statewide competitive grant process will be administered by the Medical College of Wisconsin Violence Prevention Project.

Arnitta Holliman, director of the city's Office of Violence Prevention, said the $8 million would go toward some programs that the office is already supporting but also some new programs that do youth development, prevention, and mental health and healing services.

"This was critically important to invest in communities and invest in lives," she said.

Milwaukee Common Council President Cavalier Johnson welcomed the news and said in a statement that the Office of Violence Prevention is "a tremendous asset" that would be strengthened by the funds. 

"We must do everything we can to continue to take a balanced approach to public safety that includes investment in violence prevention and intervention, police reform, as well as a properly staffed police department," said Johnson, who is also running for mayor. 

Milwaukee Alds. Milele Coggs and Marina Dimitrijevic, who are sponsoring the legislation to put $16.8 million into the Office of Violence Prevention, said in a statement that the city urgently needs to boost the office's resources.

"As a city we are simply not doing enough, not investing enough, to prevent violence," they said. "It is on us to make sure we are directing adequate resources and upscaling the best programming possible to help prevent violence."

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.