Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services

Read the full news release at PA.gov

Thanks to funding from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s (PCCD) Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) grant program, nonprofit Opportunities Industrialization Center of Philadelphia (OIC) is expanding its free workforce development training program, which has helped provide workforce training to 157 justice-involved individuals since 2023.

Today, Shapiro-Davis Administration officials visited OIC Philadelphia to spotlight how combining job training with wraparound supports has helped individuals overcome barriers, reduce violence, and build safer communities. The visit emphasized the importance of continued investments in community-based programs that change lives and strengthen neighborhoods.

Last year, homicides dropped statewide by 23 percent— from 880 in 2023 to 671 in 2024— a larger reduction than the national decrease of 15 percent. Sustained investments like the VIP grant program are likely contributing to many communities across Pennsylvania seeing real progress in reducing gun violence.

Read the full news release at PA.gov