Pittsburgh leaders working to protect critical funding for violence prevention

PITTSBURGH — Building a safer Pittsburgh, that’s the goal of the Stop the Violence Trust Fund.

Established in 2021, it’s meant to help address gun violence as a public health crisis. But now, the money is in jeopardy.

Currently, the city has $16 million allocated to stopping the violence. Each year, that fund grows by $10 million. But, if action isn’t taken to add accountability about who gets the money, it could be lost.

“Losing this funding would be catastrophic,” said Felicity Williams, the deputy chief of staff for Mayor Gainey’s office.

Last week, Pittsburgh City Council introduced legislation to restructure the city’s violence prevention fund. Councilman Khari Mosley, who co-sponsored the bill, says it would add transparency and ensure annual funding. Which, he says, is critical in a time when federal funding has been cut to many violence prevention programs.

“Ultimately, to create a long-term sustainable structure so that we can address violence for the long term in our city,” Mosley said.

The bill is also endorsed by Mayor Gainey.               

“We have seen a lot of federal funding cut recently, in particular over $800 million has been cut nationally to local violence, including local organizations right here in Pittsburgh,” Williams said.

The Stop the Violence funds are allocated to various organizations addressing violence prevention.

Channel 11 spoke with Marimba Millones with the Hill District CDC, who says in her community, this funding is critical for youth recreation, like pools, basketball and afterschool programs.

She wants residents to go to Wednesday morning’s public hearing, where city council plans to discuss the bill.

“… Let city council know this is not the time to remove these funds but to ensure that the city hears that we need these funds now more than ever,” she said.

Bill opponents have suggested repurposing the fund to support items like blight or policing, but bill sponsors say the fund is working, citing recent crime statistics from 2024.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group