Safer Streets: Governor Hochul Announces Nearly $21 Million for Community Outreach Programs That Work to Reduce Gun Violence and Save Lives Across New York State

Community-Based Organizations and Hospitals Receive Grants to Support SNUG Street Outreach, Case Management and Social Work Teams that Interrupt Violence and Provide Services and Support in 14 Communities

Announcement Follows Governor Hochul’s Recent Report of Record-Low Gun Violence Across New York State

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced nearly $21 million to support SNUG Street Outreach programs, an evidence-based violence prevention initiative that works to reduce gun violence and save lives in 14 communities across New York State. These grants allow community-based organizations and hospitals to employ outreach workers, hospital responders, social workers and case managers who are credible messengers and work with individuals at highest risk of gun violence, connecting them with support and services to interrupt cycles of harm, promote healing and increase opportunity.

“I am proud to continue investing in SNUG and the community-based partners who are doing this lifesaving work every day,” Governor Hochul said. “SNUG is helping keep neighborhoods safer, supporting families in the aftermath of violence and creating real opportunities for young people to thrive. These teams are making a meaningful difference in communities across New York, and we will continue to build on that progress.”

The funding announcement follows Governor Hochul’s recent report that 2025 marked record-low levels of gun violence across New York State. Data released earlier this month show that the 28 police departments participating in the State’s Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative reported 491 shooting incidents with injury in 2025, the fewest since the state began tracking that metric in 2006. The Governor’s FY27 Executive Budget proposal sustains unprecedented support for SNUG and other gun violence prevention initiatives in communities that account for roughly 90 percent of violent crimes involving firearms and 85 percent of violent crimes outside of New York City.

Shooting incidents with injury declined 16 percent last year compared to2024. The number of individuals shot decreased 22 percent, from 723 in 2024 to 566 in 2025, while fatalities from gun violence fell 23 percent, from 116 to 89.

Administered by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), SNUG is a key component of Governor Hochul’s comprehensive plan to address the causes and consequences of gun violence and other crimes, alongside the GIVE initiative, the state’s nationally recognized Crime Analysis Centers Network and Project RISE (Respond, Invest, Sustain, Empower). The SNUG Street Outreach program takes a public health approach to address gun violence by identifying sources of conflict, interrupting transmission and supporting individuals, families and communities affected by violence.

Community-based organizations and hospitals will receive $20.9 million to fund staff, programs, services, equipment, and technology during the 2026 calendar year. SNUG employs 176 full-time and 46 part-time personnel who work in specific neighborhoods in Albany, the Bronx, Buffalo, Hempstead, Mount Vernon, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Poughkeepsie, Syracuse, Rochester, Troy, Utica, Wyandanch and Yonkers. DCJS tracks shooting data in these “SNUG zones” and last year, those zones collectively reported a significant, double-digit decrease in shooting victims, individuals killed by gun violence and shooting incidents with injury when compared to 2024.

SNUG outreach workers, social workers, case managers and hospital responders serve neighborhoods disproportionately affected by gun violence and are embedded at trauma centers in Albany, Buffalo, the Bronx and Rochester to support individuals and families in the aftermath of violence and connect them to ongoing services in their communities.

SNUG staff are credible messengers who live in the communities they serve, many with lived experience of violence. They work with teens and young adults to defuse conflicts, prevent retaliation after shootings, support families and connect participants to education, employment and other services. Programs also partner with community and faith leaders and local businesses to host anti-violence events, job fairs and other neighborhood activities that promote safety and healing.

The following organizations and hospitals will receive funding and support from DCJS to administer SNUG programs:

New York City and Long Island

• Bronx – Jacobi Medical Center: $2,781,137
• Hempstead – Family and Children’s Association: $1,190,580
• Wyandanch – Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk: $762,683

Hudson Valley

• Mt. Vernon – Family Services of Westchester: $1,109,075
• Newburgh – Regional Economic Community Action Plan: $917,953
• Poughkeepsie – Family Services Inc.: $1,101,943
• Yonkers – Yonkers YMCA: $941,123
• Westchester Medical Center: $250,000

Capital Region

• Albany – Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region: $1,863,270 and Albany Medical Center: $267,315
• Troy – Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region: $887,017

Central New York

• Syracuse – PathStone Corp: $1,820,189

Mohawk Valley

• Utica – Integrated Community Alternatives Network: $813,610

Finger Lakes

• Rochester – PathStone Corp.: $2,039,184 and Rochester General Hospital: $580,930

Western New York

• Buffalo – Erie County Medical Center: $2,864,635
• Niagara Falls – Community Missions of Niagara Frontier: $ 694,280

Comprehensive training, site visits and support from DCJS set SNUG apart from other community-based violence interruption programs across the state and country. New staff must complete 40 hours of training and new supervisors complete 32 hours of management training. All staff must also complete 40 hours of professional development training annually. This ongoing training and support help ensure that the program operates consistently across all SNUG sites despite being operated by different community-based organizations and hospitals.