At the height of a crime wave that saw Pittsburgh experience a near two-decade record in homicides, Mayor Ed Gainey promised action to help make the city a safer place. This included partnering with neighborhood and community organizations, which were also the recipients of grant funding as part of Gainey’s “Plan for Peace.”
While $2 million in public funds has been disbursed, questions are rising over how effective the Stop the Violence program’s community grants have been. According to reporting by the Post-Gazette, the program has not conducted a formal audit nor have officials overseeing the program sent reports mandated by law. Nor were the groups receiving funding vetted beforehand, though according to the program head, Jay Gilmer, he had worked with many of them in previous roles with the city.
In late 2022, the city announced more than 30 recipients of nearly $1 million in total funding from Stop the Violence, which is “meant to be used to help and support people who exhibit risk factors for violent behavior and encourage them to lead healthy lives.”
Despite the lack of reporting, little-to-no measurement in program success, or formal auditing, the program has grown by several multiples. Amid staff changes—Gilmer left in October 2023—Stop the Violence failed to properly notify elected officials on the list of grant recipients for the second round. Nor did the program’s office respond to “multiple requests” from the city Controller for quarterly reports.
In July 2024, Pittsburgh City Councilmember Deb Gross introduced legislation that would direct Stop the Violence to use up to 20% of its annual $10 million for “legal support for renters facing eviction.” Mayor Gainey and others supported the idea to shift funding from violence prevention to legal assistance, saying that by limiting homelessness, “you’re preventing the negative things [violence] from happening.”
Regardless of any unreported metrics from Stop the Violence, the city has seen a downturn in violent crime, with homicides “falling back in line with pre-COVID-19 numbers.” However, earlier this year, it was revealed Pittsburgh was among a multitude of municipalities not reporting crime data to the FBI. At the time, the director of the city’s Citizen Police Review Board called the lack of reporting “an embarrassment.”
