CITY OF ULSTER, NY – For the second time this month, officials have announced thousands of dollars to a drug addiction recovery center for a gun violence program”.
State Senator Michelle Hinchey, D-Saugerties, and Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, also a Democrat, said Monday that $170,000 in state funding had been secured for the gun violence prevention program known as the name of CURE, managed locally by the organizers of Samadhi. Recovery Community Outreach Center and known as Samadhi Anti-Gun Violence Prevention Program.
Hinchey first introduced the CURE model to Kingston in 2021, after creating a line item in the state budget to fund the program, and secured $50,000 each year to run it, for full credit of $100,000, according to an announcement.
The governor’s office has committed $70,000 to Samadhi for gun violence prevention efforts, and U.S. Representative Pat Ryan recently announced an additional $430,000 through a federal grant.
The CURE Violence Model is an evidence-based violence prevention program that originated in Chicago to address gang violence and reduce retaliatory killings. The program employs trained outreach workers, also known as “credible messengers,” who “have strong ties to their community and relationships with young adults, local leaders and service providers,” a statement said. Press.
“Focused primarily on young people aged 14-24, Credible Messengers work with law enforcement to try to prevent retaliatory gun violence before it happens, respond to incidents and redirect young people away from life on the streets by connecting young people with needed services, such as mental health supports, jobs, housing, substance abuse programs and educational opportunities,” the statement read.
Hinchey said Ulster County is ripe for such a scheme.
“Ulster County has experienced unimaginable trauma, loss and devastation caused by gun violence, and I am proud to have provided the first stream of public funding that enabled Samadhi to create a community-led program that will make our streets safer and help young people seek meaningful pathways in life away from violence,” Hinchey said in a statement. “There is no job more important than keeping our communities safe. , and it is the work championed by local advocates and law enforcement through Samadhi’s Gun Violence Prevention Program.”
Delgado felt the same.
“It is incredibly gratifying to announce today that the funding I secured during my time in Congress has crossed the finish line and entered the program here at Samadhi Recovery Outreach Center to support their cancer prevention program. armed violence,” Delgado said in a statement.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to stemming gun violence – we need to approach it from all angles and this innovative program helps us get to the heart of the problem in neighborhoods, on the streets, where violence is the strongest frequent.
