Pennsylvania’s budget invested millions in public safety. Here’s how it will help the Lehigh Valley, advocates say

Pennsylvania has invested millions in public safety, and some of it will come to the Lehigh Valley, advocates said at a roundtable Thursday.

Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh, who hosted the roundtable at the Boys and Girls Club in Allentown to discuss public safety investments, said the event would gather “feedback” on the state of public safety in the Lehigh Valley.

Panelists, which included police chiefs and local nonprofit leaders, identified several key major public safety issues they see in the area, including violence, hate crimes, and public nuisance issues like litter and excess noise.

Advocates stressed that police work and community work go hand in hand — police can respond to the crime and assist the community, but help from local nonprofits is key, too.

“We can’t arrest our way out of any kind of situation,” said Whitehall police Chief Michael Marks. “We must be able to form partnerships, and partnerships such as this, the Boys and Girls Club is a great building block for our citizens, and creating future citizens that are going to be productive members of our society.”

The state budget puts funding toward both traditional police work and community-based anti-violence programs. For example, the budget increased funding for the state police by $16 million, according to Miller, which will add four new cadet classes to their ranks.

Further, the state put $11.5 million toward the Building Opportunity through Out of School Time program, which will provide grants to local after-school program providers.

Katarah Jordan, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, discusses public safety and anticrime measures with State Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh and other community leaders, Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, at the Boys and Girls Club Teen Center in Allentown. The meeting was intended to bring together partners who focus on safety and anticrime measures within the community and discuss programs for keeping communities safe. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)

Katarah Jordan, CEO of the Allentown Boys and Girls Club, said her organization is applying for a cut of the BOOST money — they are seeking around $30,000 to hire more staff for its after-school programming.

“We serve under-represented children within our community. We have an 80% to 85% Hispanic population,” Jordan said. “We are getting them at their most fragile state in life, where they are learning to understand and develop skills.”

Aaron Gorodzinsky, director of security planning at the Jewish Community Center, also said they would benefit from increased safety funding. The JCC received a $75,000 crime prevention grant in 2023, which helped the organization install better surveillance cameras and implement employee safety training programs.

The Allentown JCC was the victim of a hoax bomb threat in late 2023.

“Unfortunately we have seen a rise in hate crimes in our communities,” Gorodzinsky said. “How are we going to ensure that everybody who is inside our facility feels safe, and not pick another facility where they might not be getting the same services, because if they’re coming to a facility they feel they can be threatened by the rise of hate?”

Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.