Pittsburgh declares June Gun Violence Awareness Month as community groups cite declines, urge continued funding

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday unanimously declared June to be Gun Violence Awareness Month, and dozens of community violence-prevention groups used the proclamation ceremony to credit recent funding programs for declines in shootings and to press for continued support.

The proclamation, read during the June 17 meeting, cited a peak in gun violence in 2022 (137 nonfatal shootings and 71 homicides) and said those figures fell to 85 nonfatal shootings and 42 homicides by 2024 after the city established the Stop the Violence Trust Fund in 2021 and launched Stop the Violence Community Grants in February 2022.

The monthlong designation, the proclamation stated, recognizes “a broad coalition of organizations” working to reduce homicides and said the city is committed to continuing the effort until it reaches “the goal of 0 gun violence deaths.”

Ian Reynolds, identified at the meeting as the city’s violence prevention coordinator, thanked the assembled groups and invited representatives to speak about their work. “We got a lot of good groups,” Reynolds said, and asked organizations to describe their programs and results.

Speakers from a cross-section of neighborhood organizations described community-based prevention work. Greg Griffith, deputy director of 1 Hood Media, said he wanted young people to lead part of the presentation. Austin Bay, an administrative assistant and DJ who said he works with Wanna Hamea, described free community events such as “Fridays on Debt” and neighborhood gatherings at Liberty Green Park that he said helped reduce violence on the East Side.

“My name is Mike Dixon,” said Dixon, executive director of Basketball Dreams, describing after-school and summer programs, mentorship, college tours and mental-health work. "We do everything from after-school programming to mentorship...we just try to give opportunity to the kids who deserve it." Dixon later spoke again during public comment and said his nonprofit is operating without sustained financial support and is seeking help connecting with funders and city resources.

Dr. Floyd Jones, executive director of Youth Enrichment Services, said his organization will host a status report on violence-prevention efforts at the University of Pittsburgh on July 7. “We acknowledge that we have a long way to go, but we do have some successes,” Jones said.

Other speakers emphasized neighborhood engagement and changing local norms. Ingers Burton, co-founder and deputy director of North South Partnership Project, urged residents to look out for each other and to overcome reluctance to share information with police: “It’s not about snitching. It’s about positive concern. We need to look out for each other,” Burton said.

Reverend Robert Tedder, director of children and family initiatives at Project Destiny, said prevention work must address social determinants of health through out‑of‑school and in‑school programming and family supports.

Several speakers credited the city’s Stop the Violence Trust Fund and community grants with helping neighborhoods reduce violence by supporting mental-health services, youth engagement and conflict-resolution initiatives.

Council members joined the praise. Councilor Kari Mosley, among others, later urged attendees to use the current state budget process to protect and expand violence-prevention funding, noting that the governor previously secured $100 million for such efforts and was proposing an increase in the current budget cycle.

The council approved the proclamation by unanimous voice vote. Members and presenters posed afterward for photos and asked organizers and funders to keep coordinating so the city’s gains continue.

The ceremony and subsequent public comments highlighted both grassroots programming — sports, mentoring, food distribution and neighborhood outreach — and the continuing need for stable funding and cross‑sector partnerships to sustain prevention work.