51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� The U.S. Department of Justice has slashed over $1 million in grant funding for a 51黑料 nonprofit helping people recover from bullet injuries.

The nonprofit, Power4STL, operates the Bullet Related Injury Clinic on Delmar Boulevard. The federal funding the group received was to be spent in part on direct work with people who have been shot, said Dr. LJ Punch, director of Power4STL.

鈥淲e鈥檙e busier than ever,鈥� he said in an interview Monday.

The $2 million to Power4STL was one of hundreds of competitive grants nationwide the Department of Justice cut last week. In total, the agency cut 365 grants nationwide valued at $811 million, .

In the 51黑料 area, three grants worth roughly $6.8 million were cut: the $2 million for Power4STL, part of a federal government violence prevention effort; $4 million for SoulFisher Ministries to help support reentry service providers for ex-prisoners; and an $800,000 grant to Community Lifeline Broadview in East 51黑料 for violence prevention.

Punch said of the $2 million awarded to Power4STL last year, $1.3 million remained unspent when the group received an email last Tuesday from federal officials notifying them that the grant was being terminated. The email said the grant 鈥渘o longer effectuates Department priorities.鈥�

But Punch said public safety and public health departments have identified mental health, behavioral health, violence and substance use as top issues.

鈥淧ower4STL focuses on those issues explicitly,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his federal grant included dedicated resources for our mental health care.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important for the region to know,鈥� Punch said, 鈥渢hat the federal government has decided to disinvest when we are doing everything we can to address some of those most pressing and urgent issues in the region.鈥�

Punch said Power4STL has a diverse funding portfolio and is never overreliant on any one funding source.

He said the group anticipated the funding disruption in January. After taking office, President Donald Trump鈥檚 new administration moved to pause federal grants and eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in federal government.

The three-year grant began Oct. 1 under former President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration.

Punch said Power4STL was encouraged during the application process to emphasize its ties to 51黑料鈥� Black community.

鈥淲e were very worried that that exact encouragement to emphasize our deep reach into the Black community in 51黑料 would be the foundation why the funding would now be taken away,鈥� Punch said, adding 鈥渨e can鈥檛 confirm that鈥檚 exactly why鈥� the grant was cancelled.

The Department of Justice鈥檚 Office of Justice Programs didn鈥檛 respond to an email Monday that asked for the reasoning behind the cuts.

But in a termination letter to Power4STL on April 22, the Office of Justice Programs said: 鈥淭he Department has changed its priorities with respect to discretionary grant funding to focus on, among other things, more directly supporting certain law enforcement operations, combatting violent crime, protecting American children, and supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, and better coordinating law enforcement efforts at all levels of government.鈥�

Power4STL last April announced it would convert a dilapidated medical building at 2715 Union Boulevard in north 51黑料 to its new headquarters.

Supported by $3 million in federal funds, the new building was expected to be complete within two years. Punch said Monday that is still the goal and that the $3 million was separate from the funding cancelled last week by the Justice Department.

The $800,000 grant to East 51黑料 group Community Lifeline Broadview was connected to the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program. That is a crime reduction program focused on community-led efforts, to the DOJ.

The Community Lifeline in East 51黑料鈥� Life Line Interrupting Violence Through Engagement, or L.I.V.E. Project, has trained over 1,896 community members in de-escalation and conflict resolution, and mediating over 50 conflicts, according to its .

Also impacted by last week鈥檚 cuts was The SoulFisher Ministries in 51黑料, which had a $4 million grant beginning Oct. 1 for a community-based reentry incubator initiative, Reuters reported. That grant was to last until Sept. 30, 2029.

According to its website, SoulFisher Ministries the Adult General Academic Program of Education (AGAPE) Pre- and Post Release Program, which aims to reduce recidivism among the formerly incarcerated.

Shawntelle Fisher, founder and CEO of SoulFisher, shared an email sent last Tuesday by the Office of Justice Programs announcing the termination of the grant, with wording identical to the email Power4STL received.

Fisher said the bulk of the money was to give grants to smaller groups and help train them on how to build capacity and capability. She said roughly $200,000 had been spent so far.

She said the SoulFisher still plans to move forward with its planned boot camp for reentry service providers but would have to rely on community support.

She defended reentry providers鈥� work to help people adapt to life outside prison.

鈥淭hey need all of those supports as they transition back into the community to position them to remain a viable part of the community,鈥� she said.

Reuters said that following its reporting, a DOJ official said that seven grants to victim services providers were being restored.

The grant terminations occurred last Tuesday and recipients were offered 30 days to appeal, Reuters . Fisher said she will appeal the decision.