Illinois’ Leading Latinx-serving Organizations Unite with Elected Officials and Advocates to Highlight Need for More Violence Prevention Funding

 

Illinois’ Leading Latinx-serving Organizations Unite with Elected Officials and Advocates to Highlight Need for More Violence Prevention Funding

Illinois Latino Agenda convenes summit to address the underfunding Latinx-serving violence prevention organizations have faced and what they need to make communities safer


Recently the, Latino/a/x violence prevention organizations and leaders came together to discuss the underinvestment in public safety in Latino/a/x communities throughout Illinois and advocate for sustainable funding and resources that close the gap and are commensurate with the need.
Violence prevention organizations need adequate long-term funding to prevent and mitigate harm, support victims, and advocate for transformational policy that heals communities, yet the Latino/a/x-serving violence organizations doing this work only received 6% of violence prevention funds from the cannabis tax revenue in 2022 when we know that the Latino and Black communities in Illinois are 26% more likely than their white counterparts to be victims of violence.

“Historically there has been a discrepancy between the violence experienced in Latino/a/x communities and the amount of funding allocated to address the root causes of community violence,” said state Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas (D-Chicago), at a press conference during the summit highlighting the need to provide adequate funding to Latin/o/a/x serving violence prevention organizations. “As the state doubles down on investing in comprehensive violence prevention programs and services, we are committed to ensuring that Latino/a/x organizations dedicated to improving public safety do not experience barriers to accessing resources.”

Latino/a/x serving violence prevention organizations and advocates from throughout Illinois shared their community-based and targeted approaches to preventing violence and discussed the obstacles they have faced when trying to access local, state and federal funding.

“This summit highlights that there are Latino/a/x-led organizations and people dedicated to violence prevention in Latino/a/x communities,” said state Sen. Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago). “Making our communities safer starts with increasing funding for violence prevention and improving public policy.”

During the summit’s workshops, advocates and leaders discussed barriers to accessing funds and possible solutions to improve grant approval, management, inter-agency communication, and public policy.

“For far too long, Latinx communities have borne some of the heaviest burdens of gun violence,” said José Alfaro, Director of Latinx Leadership & Community Engagement at Everytown for Gun Safety. “It’s essential we continue advocating for evidence-informed, community-based, and culturally relevant violence intervention programs that have been proven to reduce gun violence in the most affected communities.”

“Organizations and advocates on the frontlines, working to prevent violence and help victims in Latino/a/x communities, not only need more funding to increase their services. Funding agencies, specifically public sources, need to remove the restrictions that prohibit agencies on the ground to fully utilize the funding in a culturally relevant way. Oftentimes, the burden of managing these funds, including lack of timely reimbursement, create real obstacles and make it almost impossible to address the real issues,” said Marcy Rodriguez, Co-Executive Director at Enlace Chicago. “We know our communities best and can develop community-led solutions to help prevent violence if allowed to take full advantage of the resources.”

“Violence in our communities did not happen overnight, it is a result of decades of systemic racism. We have a responsibility to invest in our communities and seek to resolve the root causes.” said Jessie Fuentes, Co-Chair of the Puerto Rican Agenda and Director of Policy and Youth Advocacy at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center.

“Latino communities are significantly affected by traumatizing gun violence and we, service providers, look to our leaders and lawmakers for access to fair, equitable funding, and tools necessary for consistent provision of services for all," stated Maria Pike, Chicago Survivors Board of Directors and Illinois City Gun Violence Chapter Lead for Moms Demand Action. "Funding equitably and with consistency empowers us all in the vital work of serving and healing our community."

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