[Gettysburg, PA] – (re-post from February 10, 2023 Urban Rural Action) – Twenty-eight community members in south-central Pennsylvania have been selected to work across divides as part of Uniting to Prevent Targeted Violence in South-Central Pennsylvania(UPTV), an 18-month, non-partisan program led by Urban Rural Action that kicks off in Gettysburg on Feb. 18.
The 28 Uniters live and/or work in Adams, Dauphin, Franklin, and York counties. The eclectic group includes 13 active members of a faith community, six veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, six people with experience working in the criminal legal system, four formerly incarcerated individuals, three mental or behavioral health professionals, and a mayor.
“Targeted violence is a serious and growing problem in our country that must be addressed by communities themselves from the ground up,” said Kira Hamman, UPTV Co-Director. “UPTV and the Uniters provide communities in south-central Pennsylvania with the support and resources they need to develop local prevention networks and reduce the risks of targeted violence in this area.”
The Uniters cohort features ideological, racial, educational, and generational diversity:
- 11 participants say their political views are left of center; nine are right of center; and eight fall “squarely in the middle;”
- Nearly half of the Uniters identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian-American, or multi-racial;
- The group is roughly split between people who have four-year college degrees and those who do not; and
- Nearly a third of the group is under 45.
“I’m inspired by these 28 change-makers who have committed to work across their ideological, racial, and generational differences to prevent targeted violence,” said Joseph Bubman, UPTV Co-Director. “By taking action in their backyards on an issue of paramount importance, these Uniters will be modeling what our country requires from all of us.”
The 28 Uniters have been assigned to four project teams, each of which will work with a community organization to design and implement a project that reduces risks of targeted violence in their county: CONTACT Helpline (Franklin), Just for Today Recovery & Veteran’s Support Services (Dauphin), Mediation Services of Adams County (Adams), and Suicide Prevention of York (York). A budget of $10,000 will support each project.
“A community’s safety depends on the level of its community members’ proactivity,” said Kierstan Belle, UPTVTeam Advisor in Adams County. “I can’t wait to see how the Uniters work together with their community partners to prevent targeted violence in south-central Pennsylvania.”
The two-step application process involved a written questionnaire about prospective participants’ interest in the program and a 30-minute interview with two program organizers.
UPTV is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships under the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2022. TVTP works to help prevent incidents of domestic violent extremism, as well as to bolster efforts to counter online radicalization and mobilization to violence.
Media Contact: Logan Grubb, UPTV Chief of Staff, UR Action, logan@uraction.org
Media Contact: Logan Grubb, UPTV Chief of Staff, UR Action, logan@uraction.org
