Rep. Wild Votes to Invest in Public Safety, Violence Prevention

Press Release

Today, Rep. Susan Wild voted to pass legislation to increase the number of mental health first responders, provide flexible funding for small police departments, break cycles of violence in our communities, offer enhanced services to victims, and ensure police departments have the resources needed investigate serious crimes.

"Everyone deserves to live in a safe community, without fear of violence," said Rep. Wild. "From increasing the number of mental health first responders, to developing community-based strategies to interrupt cycles of violence, to directing resources to chronically underfunded small police departments, these bills address the diverse of the needs of our communities when it comes to public safety."

Rep. Wild is a co-sponsor of the Mental Health Justice Act and the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act, and voted in favor of the following:

H.R. 8542 Mental Health Justice Act of 2022: Establishes a grant program to pay for hiring, training, salary, benefits, and other expenses related to the creation of mental health provider first responder units. Mental health providers would act as an emergency response team when 911 is called in the case of a mental health crisis or similar situation and would connect the person in crisis with the appropriate care and community resources. This will reduce the burden on law enforcement to respond to mental health crisis while improving the safety of our communities.

H.R. 6448 Invest to Protect Act of 2022: Establishes a grant to help law enforcement agencies with fewer than 125 officers fund training, mental health support, recruitment, and retention. Importantly, this legislation gives agencies the flexibility to spend the funds where it will have the most impact for their unique circumstances. This is particularly important for PA-07, as most of the police departments have fewer than 125 officers.

H.R. 4118 Break the Cycle of Violence Act: Creates a grant program to establish and support effective, evidence passed community violence prevention programs. Specifically, this bill invests in outreach programs staffed by violence intervention specialists, hospital-based programs able to provide the social services needed by victims of violence, and grants to provide job training, apprenticeships, and workforce experience to youth in communities disproportionately impacted by violence.

H.R. 5768 VICTIM Act of 2022: Provides funding to state, tribal, or local law enforcement agencies and prosecuting offices to equip personnel with the training needed to better serve victims and their families, invest in evidence processing needs, fund victim services, and develop evidence-based programs to improve clearance rates.

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