Donald Trump’s Department of Justice cancelled hundreds of grants last week without warning – slashing over $800 million in funds for community programs like mental health clinics, homeless shelters, and job training.
Not only do these funding cuts leave countless people in the lurch, they make our communities less safe. These programs get resources to people who need them – the number one way to prevent public safety issues from ever taking place.
Combined with the chainsaw DOGE is taking to federal agencies, the Trump administration has taken billions of dollars out of our communities. That’s why this week, for Community Safety Week, we’re demanding better. We are on the Hill urging members of Congress to push back on the administration’s efforts to rewrite the laws – and to invest in essential services that lead to community safety. Join us in action this week by sending this message to Congress now.
Our tax dollars should go to programs that actually help our communities. Programs that prevent violence and stop crime – targeting the root causes of crime and actually working to end the cycles that perpetuate our mass incarceration system.
These types of common-sense programs are essential. They can help people find employment, mentor children, connect people with housing, treat addiction, provide mental healthcare, and so much more. These services give people options and support – rather than sending them to jail and creating permanent records that push these resources even further out of reach.
Cutting these programs is a reckless, cruel, and counterproductive measure. These social challenges won’t disappear just because their solutions lose funding. They show up in emergency rooms, in overcrowded jails, and in rising desperation.
We all deserve programs that allow our communities to thrive.
Thanks for taking action with us,
Tara Stutsman
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Senior Campaigns Strategist, ACLU
ACLU of Washington
P.O. Box 2728
Seattle, WA 98111-2728