LANCASTER, Pa. — Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis held an event at the Bench Mark Program building on Wednesday to highlight money passed in the state budget to fight gun violence.
The bipartisan state budget signed by Governor Josh Shapiro earlier this month will invest in violence intervention and prevention programs.
While homicides declined by 1% in Pennsylvania between 2022 and 2023, they increased by 50% in Lancaster County during that same timeframe. Youth gun involvement and gun violence are a particular and growing concern in Lancaster County.
“Addressing the epidemic of gun violence requires a comprehensive approach, including supporting law enforcement, addressing the root causes and funding community-based solutions like the Bench Mark Program,” Lieutenant Governor Davis said.
Founded in 2014, the Bench Mark Program offers leadership development and free personal training to “at-risk” youth using weightlifting to build trust and teach the value of goal setting and hard work.
“As a nurse and former health care executive, I've seen the increased impact that guns and gun violence has had on youth injuries and death rates -- let alone the mental health toll it takes on families and communities,” said Lancaster County Commissioner Alice Yoder.
“Our Commonwealth takes these critical actions to stop the flow of guns into our community and increase programming for young people not only for prevention, but for the potential our young people have to thrive in a world without violence, without firearms,” State Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El said.
One of the investments the 2024 to 2025 state budget will make is $45 million to proven community-based programs to reduce violence through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency including doubling state funding for the successful Violence Intervention and Prevention program with a $5 million increase, which supports a wide range of models focused on reducing community violence and relies on community groups that are most in tune with specific local needs.