City of Tacoma officials announced this week the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention has awarded a grant worth nearly $241,000 to fund the Tacoma Gang Reduction Project.

Established three years ago, the program works with Tacoma’s gang-impacted youth, families, and communities to reduce youth violence and gang activity. The federal grant will be used to further the program’s mission; tailor services for identified gang-involved youth who are between the ages of 14 and 24; conduct additional outreach to neighborhoods with higher incidents of gang violence through revitalization and mobilization; conduct gang awareness trainings in the community; and work with the Tacoma Police Department to increase and promote suppression activities.

In 2012, the City was awarded a $105,000 grant from the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice to help launch the program (see “Tacoma awarded $105K grant to curb gang activity,” Tacoma Daily Index, July 26, 2012).

“I am thrilled that our groundbreaking work to build better lives and stronger communities for our youth is now being supported by the federal government,” said Tacoma City Councilmember Victoria Woodards, who also serves as the Chairwoman for the Project Committee. “These funds, in addition to the state dollars we have received in the past, will go a long way towards creating opportunities for our most vulnerable young people.”

More information about the Tacoma Gang Reduction Project is available online at cityoftacoma.org/tacomagangproject.