BALTIMORE SUN: Gov. Wes Moore said Monday that the state will fund an additional $1 million in grants for local organizations and religious institutions to hire security in response to a recent wave of hate crimes and incidents.
Eligible organizations can seek up to $40,000 in emergency state funding through the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services to protect themselves against hate crimes, according to a news release from Moore’s office.
The ongoing war in the Middle East has spurred a dramatic increase in hate crimes and hate incidents against both Jewish and Muslim communities in the United States, Moore’s office said citing the Anti-Defamation League and Council on American-Islamic Relations. Israel and Hamas agreed to extend their cease-fire for two more days, The Associated Press reported, as more than 1.1 million Palestinians have been driven from their homes during Israeli bombardment.
The Moore administration is already administering $5 million in grant funding during the current fiscal year for security upgrades and staff to nonprofits and faith-based organizations.
“The governor’s office has been in touch with communities that are very concerned about their ability to protect themselves from incidents of hate,” Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention, Youth, and Victim Services Executive Director Dorothy Lennig said in a news release. “We want everyone in our faith-based and non-profit communities to know that they do not have to wait until the start of a new grant funding cycle to get at-risk communities the resources they need.”
In September the Moore administration awarded around $16 million in grants to 118 faith-based organizations and nonprofits through a Department of Homeland Security program for security personnel, equipment, planning, exercises and training.
3 men of Palestinian descent attending holiday gathering shot, injured near University of Vermont. “The Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives is committed to doing all we can to denounce religious intolerance,” said Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives Interfaith Outreach Director Dr. Lora Hargrove said in a news release. “We uplift the power of our collective humanity through dedicated community outreach and support and will continue to work tirelessly with our partners in the community.”Applications for grants will open Tuesday and close Jan. 10.
