DHS Allocates $20 Million to Black Colleges and Universities and LGBTQIA+ Organizations for Violence and Terrorism Prevention

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a hefty sum of $20 million in grants awarded through the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2023.

The TVTP Grant Program, administered by the DHS Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), aims to help local communities strengthen their abilities to combat targeted violence and terrorism.

DHS said that 41% of this year’s grant recipients are devoted to underserved populations, including one Historically Black College and University (HBCU), seven Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), one organization serving indigenous/Native American persons, one organization serving the LGBTQIA+ community, and five organizations serving rural communities.

Critics are concerned that the grant program may skew disproportionately against conservatives or be leveraged to target them.

One X user commented, “No, no you don’t. It’s a grift. Your targeting a political party is what you’re doing for your masters.”

Another wrote, “The only terrorism Americans have to fear is coming from the FBI, IRS, ATF, DHS, and the US Marshals.”

“Still no border wall…and this is the best you can do?” another wrote.

From the press release:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the award of 34 grants, totaling $20 million, through the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). The TVTP Grant Program, administered by the DHS Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is the sole U.S. federal government grant program dedicated to helping local communities develop and strengthen their capabilities in combatting targeted violence and terrorism.

The TVTP Grant Program provides financial assistance to eligible applicants in local communities across the country to develop targeted violence and terrorism prevention programming in their communities, pilot innovative prevention approaches, and identify prevention best practices that can be replicated in communities nationwide.

“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. “The Department of Homeland Security is committed to confronting this threat. Through the partnership and collaboration this grant program helps build, the Department will continue to work with communities to prevent such abhorrent targeted acts from occurring.”

In May, DHS released the latest National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) Bulletin which identifies lone offenders and small groups motivated by a range of ideological beliefs and personal grievances as a persistent and lethal threat in the current heightened threat environment. Both domestic violent extremists (DVEs) and those associated with foreign terrorist organizations continue to attempt to motivate supporters to conduct attacks, including through violent extremist messaging and online calls for violence. In March, DHS launched PreventionResourceFinder.gov to help prevent targeted violence and terrorism by giving the public easier access to available grants, research, training opportunities, and other resources across 17 federal agencies.

Ensuring equity is a key priority of the TVTP Grant Program and 41 percent of this year’s grant recipients are devoted to underserved populations, compared to 25 percent last year. Grant 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.

With $70 million in grants awarded since FY20, the FY23 grantees include organizations in Connecticut, Minnesota, and Wisconsin receiving funding for the first time. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia have received awards since the program’s inception.  To date, TVTP grant programs have conducted 287 training sessions building prevention capacity among nearly 10,000 attendees. The program has supported creation of 35 behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) teams and 13 recidivism reduction programs.

The FY23 awards build on the prevention work done across the country and will create approximately 50 new prevention jobs in addition to the dozens of positions that have been partially or fully funded to date by these awards. Through grants and other innovative efforts such as CP3’s Invent2Prevent Program, CP3 engages students and professionals seeking to build careers in the targeted violence and terrorism prevention space.

Created in 2021, CP3 is tasked with strengthening our country’s ability to prevent acts of targeted violence and terrorism nationwide. To help accomplish this mission, CP3 cultivates partnerships across every level of government and within local communities, provides grant funding and prevention training, and promotes greater awareness and understanding of TVTP strategies and best practices.  Leveraging a public health-informed approach, CP3 brings together behavioral and mental health providers, educators, faith leaders, social service providers, nonprofits, law enforcement, and other state, local, and community partners to address systemic factors that can lead to violence while strengthening protective factors at the local level that support the safety, well-being, and resiliency of communities in the United States.

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