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Over the weekend, city officials hosted the second Project SNUG - guns spelled backward - basketball tournament, which is part of a “transformative initiative aimed at reducing violence in (Mount Vernon) neighborhoods.”
Project SNUG operates through grant funding from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice. It is run by community members who were “once on the wrong end of the criminal justice system, but have made a change and turned their lives around,” according to officials.
Members of SNUG work with youths in Mount Vernon to “encourage them to make healthy choices.” It is a program run through the Family Service of Westchester.
"Ending gun violence is a national priority,” Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas stated. “Our partnership with Family Service of Westchester has significantly reduced crime and dramatically increased opportunity for those at risk. Our work has helped would be thugs decide to make a safer Mount Vernon a reality.
“Our partnerships with business and government continue to inspire and surprise participants by delivering new opportunities to achieve dreams. We are grateful for FSW's commitment and indebted for their investment in creating platforms for peaceful conflict resolution, so we can prevent senseless violence before another tragedy occurs.
“I’m proud to support this event and this project, which has saved countless lives, and will continue, with my full support, to put an end to gun violence in Mount Vernon and serve as a national model for others to follow.”
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