ROYERSFORD, PA — State Sen. Katie Muth announced this week that more than $4,000,000 in state and federal funding has been awarded to communities and service providers across Senate District 44, delivering a major infusion of support for mental health care, substance abuse treatment, domestic violence services, and crime victim assistance.
The funding, approved by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, will be distributed among Chester, Montgomery, and Berks counties through multiple grant programs targeting some of the region’s most urgent public health and safety challenges.
“This over $4 million investment in our communities and in our regional service providers will help improve outcomes for so many individuals and families dealing with the impacts of domestic violence, substance abuse, and other mental health issues,” Muth said, thanking counties, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations for their work serving vulnerable residents.
In Chester County, awards include $192,889 from the federal Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program to support a public health approach to suicide prevention, along with $499,970 in federal State Opioid Response funds for the Chester County Prison Medication Assisted Treatment Enhancement Initiative. Victim services also received significant backing, with $331,681 awarded to the Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County and $26,126 to the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County. Additional funding includes $50,000 for the county’s Children’s Advocacy Center assistant and $23,144 for Phoenixville Borough to support drug recognition expert training.
Montgomery County secured a wide range of grants, highlighted by $181,001 for firearm suicide prevention and postvention efforts and $382,284 to expand recovery and reentry supports. Two major $500,000 awards went to Gaudenzia for its Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Center One-Stop-Shop Initiative and to the Lincoln Center for Family and Youth for a collaborative response to opioid and substance abuse. Victim assistance funding totaled hundreds of thousands more, including $315,333 for the District Attorney’s Office, $117,736 for the Victim Services Center, and $111,032 for juvenile offender-related services. Additional awards support medication-assisted treatment expansion, domestic violence legal advocacy, and children’s advocacy center training and operations.
In Berks County, funding includes $352,607 for the District Attorney’s Victim/Witness Assistance Unit, $125,000 for SAFE Berks through the federal STOP Violence Against Women Act, and $50,000 to support the county’s Children’s Advocacy Center director salary and operations.
The funding approvals come as communities across southeastern Pennsylvania continue to confront rising demand for mental health services, addiction treatment, and victim support. Local officials said the grants will strengthen programs already in place while expanding access to critical services for individuals and families facing crisis.
Muth said the breadth of the awards reflects both the scale of regional need and the importance of sustained investment in prevention, treatment, and victim services across the three-county area.
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