Public Safety Committee Approves Proposed Uses of $2.5 Million State Grant to Pump Up the Pasadena Intervention and Prevention Project

The Public Safety Committee unanimously approved on Wednesday the Pasadena Public Health Department’s recommendations related to the use of $2.5 million California Violence Intervention and Prevention (CalVIP) grant funds awarded by the Board of State and Community Corrections.

The grant will be used to support the Pasadena Intervention and Prevention Project (PIPP), designed to address youth and gang violence through prevention, intervention and system development.

Approved were the contracts that would appropriate $1.14 million in CalVIP funds to D-Veal Corporation for muli-dimensional family therapy services and a $90,000 contract with Boys and Girls Club of Pasadena for academic, physical and emotional supportive services. 

As a condition of the contract, D-Veal Corporation will match 100% of the contract value with cash or in-kind services delivering additional muli-dimensional family therapy services to referred young people. The Boys and Girls Club will also match 100% of the contract value in cash or in-kind services, reducing the cost of PIPP participant enrollment in BGCP programs. 

The proposed appropriation of $684,909 that will go to the PPHD to be used for one additional personnel tasked mainly to manage grant finances and report PIPP outcomes, was also approved by the committee. 

The remainder of the $2.5 million will be appropriated to the health department through the budget process in each of the next two fiscal years, as per the department report. 

At the meeting, Councilmember Tyron Hampton urged the department to explore the possibility of incentivising PIPP participants so they could stay engaged. 

“What we really wanted to do was to launch the program, understand the need and we are pursuing and looking at other opportunities to include that in the future,” Interim Public Health Director Manuel Carmona said in response to Hampton. “But we do think that the program itself – offering family therapy, helping to build family function, goes a long way to addressing some of the needs of individuals.” 

Hampton also urged the City Council to consider funding the programs in the future.

“If this is something that is successful, the match should be coming from us,” Hampton said. “If we actually want to change people’s lives and the cycles that they are in, we need to actually pitch in. The city needs to pitch in on these dollars and support this.” 

Mayor Victor Gordo agreed with Hampton. He said many times, grants are renewed if found to be successful but even without grant funding, the City must ensure that the programs, if successful, will continue in the future. 

“So that’s the challenge before us and when successful, we will of course pursue grant dollars from the same organization or others and if we are not able to seek those dollars, I agree with Mr. Hampton that when we have a successful program, we should ensure that it continues to thrive.” 

The PPHD will administer the PIPP for three years – from July 2022 through June 30, 2025. 

Over the last three years, Pasadena experienced 125% increase in the number of confirmed shootings with 32 shootings in 2019, 59 in 2020 and 72 in 2021, as per the PPHD report. 

To address the rise of shootings, the city implemented several measures including the installation of security cameras in parks, use of the Shot Spotter gun detection system and establishment of a Gang Violence Outreach and Interruption Services team to address gang violence.