The City of St. John’s has approved $477,000 as part of the Building Safer Communities Grant Program to support community-based service providers in developing or strengthening crime and violence prevention and intervention initiatives for children, youth, young adults, and their families.

The funding will be divided among three projects.

The Iris Kirby House will receive $130,000 to provide specialized counselling services for children and youth including a mental health and wellbeing counsellor, the redesign of three spaces and crisis prevention and intervention training for staff.

Thrive CYN St. John’s Inc. will receive $150,000 to develop a street-based outreach program that will operate exclusively in the downtown core.

The MacMorran Community Centre Corp. and Buckmaster’s Circle Community Centre Inc. will be awarded $197,000 to address the root causes of violence in eight low-income neighbourhoods within the city.