The Capital Region is set to receive a share of nearly $21 million in state funding to support SNUG Street Outreach programs, with new grants awarded to Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region in both Albany and Troy, as well as Albany Medical Center. The funding is part of a larger $20.7 million investment by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, aimed at reducing gun violence across 14 communities statewide, including the Capital Region, the Bronx, Buffalo, and other cities, as reported by Spectrum News.
The grants will be used to employ outreach workers, hospital responders, and case managers who work directly with people at the highest risk of being involved in gun crimes. According to CBS 6 Albany, the goal is to interrupt and prevent the spread of violence by using a public health approach. SNUG staff members—often called “credible messengers”—help connect individuals to support services that aim to change behavior and provide positive alternatives.
The Trinity Alliance’s SNUG programs, which have operated in Albany since 2010 and in Troy since 2015, treat violence as a disease and work with those at the epicenter to prevent retaliation and promote safer communities. Their outreach teams conduct mediations, provide wraparound services such as high school equivalency classes, job training, anger management, and housing assistance, and respond alongside hospital staff when a shooting occurs to help quell further violence, according to Trinity Alliance…