Updated May 16, 2025 at 8:45 a.m.
The U.S. Justice Department has canceled hundreds of grants nationwide that support programs ranging from support services for victims of sexual assault to combatting violent crime — including two grants for a program that works to reduce gun violence in the Lansing area.
Documents obtained by the Associated Press indicate one of the grants canceled was $1 million allocated for Advance Peace Lansing, which aims to reduce gun violence by connecting with young men involved in gun-related offences. Another canceled grant was meant to fund research into Advance Peace’s methods.
Paul Elam is the chief strategy officer for the Michigan Public Health Institute, which runs Advance Peace Lansing. He said the immediate effects from losing that $1 million grant might be minimal because the organization has already spent all but $12,000. But Elam says he’s worried about another grant — $2 million awarded in 2023 — that has not yet been canceled.
“We believe it will be canceled at some point because the Department of Justice announced that they plan to terminate all community violence intervention grants,” Elam said.
He says the ramifications would be devastating for Advance Peace Lansing.
“We’re talking about a significant impact to our initiatives,” Elam said. “We would more than likely have to lay staff off.”
Lansing Police Chief Rob Backus says he’s concerned about the possibility of Advance Peace Lansing losing its current federal funding.
"I don't know if there's anybody else that can pick up that space or can pick up that work because quite frankly, it involves a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of resources. That stuff isn't free," he said.
Backus adds it would be hard for Advance Peace Lansing to continue its efforts to reduce gun violence without adequate funding.
“As much as people care passionately about reducing violence, it's very hard to have someone do that consistently if they're just doing something like a volunteer level.”
In letters obtained by the Associated Press, the Justice Department said it has changed its priorities to focus on “more directly supporting certain law enforcement operations, combatting violent crime, protecting American children, and supporting American victims of trafficking and sexual assault.”
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.