Anti-gun violence group pledges $25 million to stop shootings

The nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization is stepping up efforts to address the scourge of recent shootings

The nation’s largest gun violence prevention organization is stepping up efforts to address the scourge of recent shootings across the country as part of a new initiative unveiled exclusively by ABC News on Monday. Everytown for Gun Safety is delivering millions of dollars in grants and providing support to local organizations that aim to reduce gun crimes by tapping into communities most impacted by firearms. The new initiative, known as the Everytown Community Safety Fund, is dedicating $25 million over five years to gun violence prevention programs. The first million is set to be distributed across organizations next month. "It's an urgent moment," said Michael-Sean Spence, Everytown's director of community safety initiatives who is leading the rollout of the new initiative. "We're in the middle of a public health crisis -- one that has been brewing for a number of years and has really taken off over the last year, year and a half.” The rate of homicides with a firearm is nearly 25 times higher in the U.S. compared to similar economically developed countries, according to a 2015 study published in the journal of Preventive Medicine. More recently, 2020 marked the highest number of firearm deaths in at least 20 years, according to Britannica, the group behind the famed encyclopedia, and the Gun Violence Archive.