FY24 Gun Violence Prevention Mini-Grant - Summary

The DC Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) supports initiatives that directly contribute to the prevention of gun violence in DC by awarding funding for community-based programs that creatively address the root causes of violence, promote community engagement, and foster a safer and more resilient environment across the District.

How does this help?

These awards support initiatives that contribute to the prevention of violence in the District of Columbia. The ONSE strategy allows the office to partner with community-based organizations to help prevent gun violence, thereby increasing public safety. Very often, community and faith-based organizations and individuals operate programs that engage youth who are most likely to turn to gun violence. ONSE grants help ensure that these important community programs may continue as a vital part of the solution to help end gun violence in the District.

How much is being invested?

In FY24, 27 organizations were awarded mini-grants of $5,000 each, for a total of $135,000. These grants were awarded in June for programming to occur throughout September 2024.

List of Grantees

• Bold Yoga – Bold Yoga provides a Sister Circle program for girls between the ages of 15 to 19 to develop love and emotional regulation. The program consists of four main sessions, including yoga, meditation, healing circles, and self-love workshops facilitated by Bold Yoga's trauma-informed yoga teachers.
• Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School —The CBOBS provides 320 middle and high school students at Sojourner Truth Public Charter School (Ward 5) with access to our Insight Day program. Students tackle challenges individually and as a group, and they have structured opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings and navigate group dissension.
• Crowned in Resilience Collective—The Community Healing Garden initiative is a cornerstone of this summer youth program, imparting valuable lessons on health, wellness, and clean eating. The program revitalizes the green space surrounding the Contee AME Zion Church, fostering community well-being through hands-on engagement in gardening.
• Discovery Construction, LLC – This is a youth advocacy and skilled trades organization with decades of experiencing mentoring young people for workforce development, trades, conflict resolution, and fitness. They offer an array of positive programs, including boxing as a discipline to address conflict resolution.
• Do The Write Thing Foundation of DC – The ‘Verbal Harmony’ initiative is designed to reduce gun and street violence by empowering at-risk youth with communication and conflict resolution skills. The program equips participants with the verbal tools necessary to de-escalate potentially explosive situations.
• East of the River Clergy Police Community Partnership, Inc. – The ERCPCP’s workforce development pilot program works with 10 justice-involved young people from Ward 7 to support restorative justice efforts. The program includes mentoring, workshops, and one-on-one job search assistance toward obtaining employment.
• Empowerment Enterprise II – EE2 provides an All-Girls Drumline program that develops musical skills, teamwork, and confidence. In 2023, the drumline program served 150 unduplicated individuals, supporting artistic expression and personal growth.
• Faenita Dilworth, LLC – This organization provides a Girls Empowerment Workshop that serves middle and high school girls from communities in the Ward 8 Anacostia community. The program supports creative positive change and promotes youth involvement in violence prevention with a focus on prioritizing community safety.
• Fearlyss Journey Movement – This program supports discipline, resilience, and camaraderie for young individuals through dance. The program is designed for youth that have faced challenges within the school and community settings. It is designed to provide structured dance sessions, mentorship, and a platform for creative expression.
• Free Lunch Academy – The six-week on-site program is designed to enhance areas of behavioral health and provide skills that encourage violence prevention. The FLA provides mentoring, therapeutic recreation, and behavioral support as its three main pillars.
• GOODProjects – GOODCamps is a seven-week summer enrichment experience for children between the ages of 8 and 17. The program provides access to nutritious meals, tutoring, mentorship, and recreational activity.  The program builds community and instills a life-long love of learning.
• InnerCity Collaborative Community Development Corporation – For ages 13 – 25, the ICCCDC provides a Community Empowerment and Restoration Project in collaboration with Casey Trees, Cure the Streets, Uptown Team, and the COACHES case management staff. The program merges community development with violence prevention through activity surrounded by tree planting and environmental transformation.
• Many Languages One Voice – MLOV is a Black, Indigenous, People of Color immigrant-led organization serving DC’s low-income BIPOC immigrants and refugees who do not speak English as a primary language. The program empowers youth and families to access opportunities for economic mobility and to impact change for their lives.
• Matthews Memorial Baptist Church – The GEAR Over Guns program is a youth empowerment initiative with a strategy to mitigate gun violence in the Historic Barry Farm/Anacostia segment of Ward 8. The program engages at-risk youth in transformative mentorship and equipping them with essential conflict resolution skills including WoWTalks (words of wisdom).
• Mint Project, Inc. – The Mint Project uses direct services, storytelling, and coalition-based advocacy to usher homeless and at-risk youth and adults onto a more stable path of life. The program creates bridges to restorative resources and plants seeds of love in the hearts that need it most.
• Open Goal Project – The Open Goal Project is a comprehensive initiative designed to address the root cases of violence and the systemic barriers that exist in communities. The program nurtures the holistic development of young people, focused on equipping them with the tools to achieve improvement in physical, emotional and spiritual health and wellness.
• Opportunities for Deserving Children, Inc. – OFDC delivers a ‘Rolling Away From Violence’ program, a preventative skating initiative designed to reduce gun violence. It engages youth each Thursday at the Anacostia Skate Pavilion.
• P.A.S.S. – This program introduces students to various opportunities and activities that allow them to compete with their counterpart scholars living West of the Potomac River. The life skills portion of PASS teaches skills and life lessons that typically come from wisdom and age.
• Payton’s Path Foundation —The Empowerment Through Expression program addresses the root causes of youth involvement in gun violence. It focuses on emotional and psychological well-being through structured, creative, and health-oriented programs.
• Project Purpose – The Return Program provides positive in-person mentoring for returning citizens. Healing circles are used to address struggles after returning from incarceration with resource sharing whereby participants can share opportunities and resources that are beneficial to the group.
• Representation from the Bottom – This organization offers the ‘Our Future Speakers’ program through workshops, guest speaking events, public speaking competitions, and professional development. The Violence Reduction Intervention program empowers high-risk youth by teaching a variety of skill sets that youth may use to pursue a job or career.
• Schmidt’s Electrical Enterprises, PC – This organization offers an Empower Electric program designed to empower young people for careers in the electrical field as an innovative multi-purpose strategy toward gun violence prevention.
• Sisters4Sisters, Inc. – The Healing Garden Program revives hope and is tailored for youth nd young adults. It offers a range of activities including art therapy, music, yoga, and engaging field trips to open minds and inspire futures.
• So What Else, Inc. – This program empowers youth by allowing them to lead and mentor within their communities.  The program focuses on harnessing the potential of adolescents to serve as positive role models for younger children, thereby fostering a culture of safety, respect, and mutual support.
• Triumphant Leaders of DMV Youth Program – This program offers arts, youth fitness, and a three-week instructional curriculum-based offering that teaches basic life skills. Together, these programs are designed to address the unique needs of at-risk youth and equip them with necessary tools for personal growth and success.
• Ward 7 Blue Bulls Youth Organization – This group offers weekly conflict resolution and mediation-based programs for youth ages 12 to 18.  Program sessions address topics related to the social and emotional challenges that youth routinely encounter in their daily lives Facilitated scenarios open dialogue about commonly encountered situations that can be resolved using critical thinking and appropriate communication skills.
• Youth Guidance DC BAM Fellowship Initiative – This program delivers comprehensive counseling, mentoring, and workforce readiness programming to address male-identifying youth who have been exposed to trauma and who face social, behavioral, cognitive, or emotional challenges.