State House committee told more funding, resources needed to battle youth violence in Erie

Erie and other municipalities plagued by gun violence — especially involving youth —need Pennsylvania’s lawmakers to get behind hundreds of millions of dollars in sustainable prevention efforts aimed at creating long-term solutions.

That message was relayed to members of the state House Democratic Policy Committee and the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus during a Tuesday morning committee hearing on youth violence intervention and prevention at Eagle’s Nest Leadership Corp., 1129 Pennsylvania Ave.

Such hearings are conducted to give legislators a chance to hear community concerns about gun violence.

State Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-3rd Dist., of Millcreek Township, chairs the Policy Committee and was in attendance Tuesday.

State Rep. Donna Bullock, D-195th Dist., of Philadelphia, chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus, co-hosted the two-hour hearing, which featured testimony from several people working to reduce gun violence in the Erie region and statewide.

“Gun violence where we live has become epidemic, especially among our youth,” said Bishop Dwane Brock, pastor of Victory Christian Center and Eagle’s Nest’s CEO.

During his testimony to lawmakers Tuesday morning, Brock recalled the shooting of a 17-year-old at an outdoor basketball court on the Eagle’s Nest campus in September 2021, at the end of a long summer of youth violence locally.

Youth violence: Erie 17-year-old gets county prison for shooting teen on basketball court

Two teens and a woman face charges in that case.

Brock urged members of the committee to embrace increased financial support within the Republican-controlled state Legislature for “functional, plausible, doable programming within our communities” for youth that stress education, empowerment, job training, financial literacy and conflict resolution.

“Once we get the necessary funding … we will see a definite transformative change for the better right here within Erie, Pennsylvania,” Brock said.

Bullock said the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency is making such funding available including $24 million in Violence Intervention and Prevention grants which address community violence throughout Pennsylvania.

Further, there is nearly $100 million in grant funding available through PCCD for safety and security grants, focused on schools, that support mental health early intervention, self-care and suicide awareness, restorative justice, bullying prevention, counseling services, staff training and trauma-informed education.

Democrats in the state Legislature would like to see stricter firearms restrictions such as universal background checks, red flag laws, guidelines for mandatory lost/stolen gun reporting and other measures to combat youth violence and other serious crime.

The GOP majority, though, has not embraced those proposals and kept some of them from reaching a vote. It is unclear whether Republicans would widely support even more funding for youth intervention programs.

Multi-year state commitment

Josh Fleitman, CeaseFire PA’s western Pennsylvania manager, testified that he would like to see a multi-year state commitment to such preventative funding regarding gun violence. He suggested a state budget line item that sets aside $100 million annually for the next 3 to 5 years.

Fleitman told lawmakers that he would also like to see Pennsylvania strengthen gun laws to make it tougher for young people to access firearms.

“We can see tangible policy progress that will make Pennsylvanians safer,” Fleitman said.

Michael Outlaw, Erie Mayor Joe Schember’s community liaison, explained the Unified Erie anti-violence initiative to legislators during his testimony.

Unified Erie is a broad-based, data-driven violence-reduction program created in 2010 that follows a three-pronged approach to reducing violence and problem behaviors: prevention, law enforcement and re-entry.

Unified Erie:Rise in juvenile offenses leads anti-crime effort to focus on middle school kids

As part of that approach, the city has hosted “call-in” events as recently as last week, Outlaw said.Formally known as Group Violence Reduction Strategy, invitees who are on probation or parole and/or known by law enforcement to be involved in violence are asked to step away from crime and gang violence in exchange for resources —such as help with employment, education, and whatever else they might need through case management services.

“This is a data driven, best practices approach,” Outlaw said.

Those involved in violence is getting younger

Outlaw testified that at last week’s call in, the average age of participants was 16, highlighting the recent local uptick in youth violence.

“Trauma that isn’t transformed is transferred,” Outlaw said. “What we’re witnessing play out in our communities across America is genocide.”

Outlaw pointed out that although significant resources must be directed toward youth violence, communities must not forget to support youth and young adults “who are law-abiding” but need help to avoid violence and escape poverty and other negative societal influences.

Darrell Cook, pastor and lead teacher at Erie's Christ Community Church, agreed.

He added that many youth rely on schools and church communities for food, recreation, academic assistance and other crucial support because “their homes are not safe spaces."

Cook also urged the lawmakers to support funding to keep important anti-violence and youth programs going.

“We need resources in order to make that happen,” Cook said.

Bullock said the hearing gave legislators valuable insight into what’s happening to combat gun violence in Erie.

“My home city of Philadelphia has been gripped by gun violence," Bullock said. "I’m uplifted by the testimony we heard today."

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: In Erie, state lawmakers hear concerns about increased youth violence