Brookline, Boston Programs Addressing Youth Violence Get State Grant

BROOKLINE, MA — A series of area programs in Brookline and Boston addressing youth violence is set to receive a new batch of state funding, officials announced this month.

The Brookline/Boston partnership is getting just over $1.6 million to support 20 total programs. The funding comes via the Senator Charles E. Shannon, Jr. Community Safety Initiative in a larger round of awards totaling more than $10 million across Massachusetts.

State Shannon Community Safety Initiative money aims to support what officials this month described as “regional and multi-disciplinary approaches to youth violence intervention, prevention, enforcement, prosecution and reintegration services.”

Grant recipients will distribute their awarded money to various partnered agencies and programs as defined in individual grant applications.

Programs, officials said, will look to support youth and adults between the ages of 10 and 24 who are at risk of getting involved in a gang in communities already flagged as hot spots for gang activity.

Partnered organizations at the community level include law enforcement, social service providers and other intervention, prevention, suppression, youth programming and community mobilization programs, as noted in the state’s recent grant announcement.

The state announced grant awards on Dec. 6. In the announcement, Gov. Charlie Baker called Shannon Community Safety Initiative partnerships an “important part” of work to create safer communities.

“This approach is a model for serving our youth,” Lt. Governor Karyn Polito separately said.

Boston and Brookline have jointly won funding through the Shannon Community Safety Initiative before. Boston is listed as the primary site for Shannon funding, with Brookline joining as a partner community.

A 2021 assessment of Boston linked to the Shannon Initiative noted 102 street gangs operating in the city. Officials classified 738 individuals between the ages of 14 and 24 as being members of a gang, with youth and gang violence being most prevalent in the Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan neighborhoods.