The second cohort of Imagine Nonviolence reflects
an increased investment in the community-driven program
The Health Foundation for Western & Central New York has awarded more than $220,000 in grants to 23 organizations in western and central New York through its program, Imagine Nonviolence. Now in its second year, Imagine Nonviolence (IN) uses a two-pronged approach to fund grassroots initiatives for safer, healthier communities through programs to raise awareness of firearm safety, reduce gun violence, and equip community members with needed skills.
“We launched Imagine Nonviolence last year to partner with community organizations and explore different approaches to preventing gun violence and injury,” said Nora Suric, PhD, President of the Health Foundation. “We are thrilled to continue this program by welcoming a new cohort of grantee-partners with expanded learning opportunities and an increased investment. Deepening our financial commitment allows us to support even more organizations that are doing valuable work in the communities we serve.”
Launched in April 2024, Imagine Nonviolence is the Health Foundation’s first program that specifically addresses gun violence or firearm-related injury, one of many social determinants that can adversely affect a person’s health. In addition to funding, grantee-partners have access to an active learning collaborative, designed to facilitate information sharing, brainstorming, and collaboration within the cohort.
Imagine Nonviolence: Close the Gap Grant Recipients
Imagine Nonviolence: Close the Gap focuses on bridging the financial gaps for established programs that receive other funding for their gun violence prevention work. The following organizations received grants of $5,000 each:
Central New York
Good Life Youth Foundation – Syracuse, NY ($5,000)
Using the language of hip hop and the credible messenger model, the Good Life Youth Foundation creates a holistic, trauma-informed approach to empower youth and strengthen families. Funding will support a special teen summit featuring a documentary, post-viewing discussion, and healing circles.
Integrated Community Alternatives Network (ICAN) – Utica, NY ($5,000)
Funding will further ICAN’s violence prevention efforts, including the SNUG Utica program. SNUG works with individuals who are at the highest risk for causing violence, addresses the root causes, and educates the community on how violence is spread.
Midtown Utica Community Center (MUCC) – Utica, NY ($5,000)
With deep ties to the community and firsthand experience of immigration, MUCC’s multicultural staff leads youth engagement initiatives that foster trust and reject violence. Funding will advance efforts to discourage refugee youth from joining gangs.
Rebuilding the Village – Utica, NY ($5,000)
Funding will support outreach to children ages 8 to 16 years old and their families. The goal is to deter gang recruitment and youth violence while using support groups and other relationship-building activities.
OG’s Against Violence – Syracuse, NY ($5,000)
Funding will support OG’s gun violence prevention efforts, including a violence interruption model. OG’s will continue outreach to the community to educate and support those who are prone to fighting and violence.
REACH CNY – Oswego County, NY ($5,000)
Oswego County is representative of rural communities where a larger percentage of the population owns a gun and/or lives in a gun-owning household. Funding will support violence prevention resources, such as lock boxes and cable gun locks, for Oswego residents.
Western New York
Back to Basics Outreach Ministries, Inc. – Buffalo, NY ($5,000)
Funding will support HEAT (Health, Empowerment, Attitude, and Teamwork), an afterschool program serving 60 teenagers at risk of joining gangs. HEAT will help teens develop greater self-esteem and resilience, and encourage them to focus on improved home relationships, meaningful interpersonal communication, and academic success.
Buffalo Police Athletic League (PAL) – Buffalo, NY ($5,000)
Funding will support the Critical Conversations portion of PAL’s Youth Opportunity Connect program. Critical Conversations sessions focus on firearm safety, gun violence prevention, and restorative justice.
Erie County Restorative Justice Coalition, Inc. (ECRJC) – Erie County, NY ($5,000)
Funding will support the ECRJC’s Diversion program, a three-part workshop series focused on resiliency and trauma healing. Workshop components include victim-offender community conferencing, a community safety circle, and relationship building with officers from the Buffalo Police Department.
Peaceprints of WNY – Erie County, NY ($5,000)
Funding will support the Empower Youth program, serving justice-involved youth ages 12-18 following their reentry into the community. Youth coordinators will serve as dedicated case managers to help the teenagers develop healthy life skills and goals.
Say Yes Buffalo Scholarship, Inc. – Erie County, NY ($5,000)
Funding will support the Cities United Annual Conference, presented by Say Yes’ Breaking Barriers Youth Leadership Council. The conference is a national convening of leaders, practitioners, and youth to advance strategies for reducing gun violence and improving lifelong outcomes for Black men and boys.
VOICE Buffalo – Erie County, NY ($5,000)
Funding will support trauma healing circles offered to formerly incarcerated individuals. VOICE will provide continuity of services, which is essential for healing, connection, and long-term community transformation.
Imagine Nonviolence: Expand the Reach Grant Recipients
Imagine Nonviolence: Expand the Reach funds innovative and collaborative programs working to reduce the risk of firearm-related injury and death among pregnant people, children under age 5, and older adults in western and central New York. The following organizations received grants of up to $15,000:
Central New York
Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees – Herkimer and Oneida counties, NY ($14,960)
Funding will support expanded firearm screenings, safety resources, education, and workshops. Community Health Navigators will work with refugee and immigrant populations of pregnant and birthing people, pre-school children, older adults, and their caregivers.
Providing Others with Empowered Resources (POWER), Inc. – Madison and Onondaga counties, NY ($15,000)
Funding will support FIRE (Firearm Intervention, Response & Education), designed to educate youth, parents, pregnant people, and older caregivers who are often overlooked in traditional gun safety efforts. The FIRE team will offer firearm safety education and integrate real-life stories from credible messengers who have firsthand experience with gun violence.
Western New York
Children’s Hospital of Buffalo Foundation – Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming counties, NY ($13,750)
Funding will support an extension of the work being done by the hospital’s Trauma Injury and Prevention team. Safety locks will be provided to patients at pediatric offices with a focus on rural communities. Educational sessions for providers will feature evidence-based programs specifically designed to increase firearm safety for children and families.
Every Bottom Covered, Inc. – Erie and Orleans counties, NY ($15,000)
Funding will advance the From the Womb program, which offers parents support, connection, education, and safety devices such as gun locks and secure storage solutions. The program will also foster a network of support through partnerships with healthcare providers and community organizations.
Metro Community Development Corporation (MCDC) – Erie County, NY ($15,000)
Funding will support workshops focused on conflict resolution, safe gun storage, and the social-emotional impact of community violence. The goal is to create a safer community for youth and older adults ages 62 and older who live in the Masten Park District of Buffalo.
Most Valuable Parents of Buffalo (MVP) – Erie County, NY ($14,850)
Funding will support MVP’s Parents Supporting Parents initiative—a community-centered effort designed to strengthen families, reduce violence, and foster healthier relationships between youth, caregivers, and school staff. The program includes workshops on parenting, self-care, and conflict resolution, restorative circles, support groups for caregivers, pregnant women, and youth, and community bonding activities to foster connection and engagement.
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center – Niagara County, NY ($13,970)
Funding will support Harmless Homes, a comprehensive response to firearm violence affecting pregnant and birthing people and children under age 5 in Niagara Falls and Niagara County. The program will expand existing firearm violence prevention work and include training for community health workers, community education, and safety resources.
No Wound Untreated, Inc. – Erie and Niagara counties, NY ($14,850)
Funding will support the Mommies & Mental Health initiative by integrating firearm safety education and injury prevention into trauma-informed programming for postpartum Black and brown mothers and their young children. Activities will include training local doulas and licensed mental health clinicians to assess for gun safety, pursuing culturally sensitive conversations with families, and providing gun safes for secure firearm storage.
Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service Inc. on behalf of Erie County Suicide Prevention Coalition – Chautauqua, Erie, and Niagara counties, NY ($14,380)
Funding will support the Suicide Prevention Coalition’s multipronged approach to reach older adults and their caregivers with resources for firearm safety, suicide prevention, and mental health. Outreach will include tabling at gun shows, community workshops, training FeedMore WNY staff, and Question Persuade Refer (QPR) suicide-prevention training at Erie County senior centers.
Urban Christian Ministries, Inc. – Erie County, NY ($14,850)
Funding will support WE LEAD: Secure Peace, designed to reduce the impact of gun violence on children, teens, expectant mothers, and older adults in Erie County. Trained youth leaders will educate children, families (including grandparent-headed households), and older adults about the risks of unsecured firearms and provide resources.
YWCA Jamestown – Chautauqua County, NY ($15,000)
Funding will advance Safe Beginnings, a trauma-informed firearm safety initiative that will train staff, incorporate firearm safety into program screening and assessments, and provide families with practical tools, education, and ongoing support. The goal is to help prevent unintentional firearm injury—particularly among children and birthing people at elevated risk.
