Below are press releases from Congressman Bennie G. Thompson:
United States Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) recently announced the U. S. Department of Education has awarded $420,000 in Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV) grant funds to Tougaloo College after receiving a bomb threat in March.
The grants, which range from $50,000 to $150,000 per school, are intended to fund education-related services to help schools recover from a violent or traumatic event. The university will use the funds to support student trauma recovery related to these threats by hiring full-time equivalent Trauma Specialists/Counselors, increasing full time Security Officer coverage, and offering additional mental health supports.
United States Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) also announced the U. S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has awarded $160,000 in Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) to Alcorn State University to prevent targeted violence and terrorism.
Alcorn State University is proposing the Community Radicalization to Violence Training program to address the growing violence in our region and in our nation with domestic terrorism and race-based violence. It is aimed to assist Alcorn State University and surrounding communities to combat threats and other societal harms that lead to groups coming together with the intent of causing harm to property or life. This project is necessary due to the growing threats that HBCUS have encountered since 2018. We anticipate that providing trainings of this nature will not only assist the University in addressing this growing concern, but also assist the surrounding counties with skills and knowledge to help fight violence within their communities.
