DHS Awards Grants to Help Local Communities Combat Terrorism, Extremism
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently awarded 34 grants to state and local law enforcement, nonprofits, and academic institutions across the nation, to help local communities fight terrorism and extremism.
It is the fourth year that the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grants have been awarded.
The grants help local communities develop programs to prevent targeted violence, pilot prevention methods, and identify best practices that can be shared nationwide. In particular, the programs developed help communities prevent “lone-wolf” and other extremist acts, such as the recent targeted killing of three black men at a Dollar General in Jacksonville, Florida.
The TVTP Grant Program is the “only federal grant program solely dedicated to helping local communities develop and strengthen their capabilities in this area.” It is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the DHS Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3). Besides preventing violence, goals include developing equity, addressing online aspects of targeted violence, and enhancing local threat assessment and response capabilities.
“As the recent racially-motivated shooting in Jacksonville made painfully clear, targeted violence and terrorism can impact any community, anywhere,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas in a news release announcing the grant recipients. “The Department of Homeland Security is committed to confronting this threat.”
Grant Recipients
The 34 grants awarded this year total $20 million. The program is focused on ensuring equity and 41 percent of grant recipients are devoted to serving underserved populations, up from 25 percent last year.
Recipients include one Historically Black College and University (HBCU) among seven Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), one organization serving indigenous/Native American persons, one organization serving the LGBTQIA+, and five organizations serving rural communities.
For the first time, organizations in Connecticut, Minnesota, and Wisconsin are receiving funding.
Grant recipients include the University of Colorado Boulder, the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, Boston Children’s Hospital, Michigan State Police, Cherokee Nation, Parents for Peace, and a host of other organizations.
Programs receiving funding include threat assessment programs, youth violence prevention programs, programs to raise awareness about violent content, bystander training, training for mental health practitioners, and more.
Since the grant program starting in 2020, it has awarded $70 million in 35 states and Washington, DC.
DHS says TVTP grant programs helped conduct more than two thousand training sessions and have created nearly three dozen behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) teams since inception.
DHS also says this year’s grant recipients will directly create approximately 50 new prevention jobs thanks to the funding.