Moore expands safety grants for Prince George's nonprofits with $450,000

Eight Prince George’s County nonprofits split $450,000 in new Safer Stronger Together grants, money aimed at nearly 650 young people in Capitol Heights and District Heights. The funding backs mentorship, support for fathers, tutoring and therapeutic interventions for high-risk youth, putting the average award at about $56,250 per nonprofit, or roughly $692 for each young person served.

Governor Wes Moore and Acting Department of Human Services Secretary Stacy Rodgers cast the grants as part of a broader public-safety strategy, not just a one-time check. Maryland describes Safer Stronger Together as a cross-agency, place-based effort run by the Department of Human Services, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services and the Department of Juvenile Services, built on the idea that safer neighborhoods depend on stronger community ties, trust in government and shared partnership. State materials say more than 2,000 Maryland families touch two or more of those systems.

The Prince George’s County round is a meaningful local commitment, but it is still modest against the scale of the statewide need. Maryland says Safer Stronger Together has put $2.26 million into 32 grassroots nonprofits and reached more than 5,000 young people ages 13 to 25, which means Prince George’s County accounted for about 20% of the dollars and about 13% of the youth served statewide. That makes the county award a real down payment on violence prevention and family support, but not a broad solution to the deeper problems that drive school disruption, instability at home and street-level risk in the county’s hardest-hit communities.

Moore paired the safety grants with a separate housing message at District Heights Elementary School and later at Prince George’s Community College in Largo. The Community Schools Rental Assistance Program has already helped more than 60 Prince George’s families with $675,000 in support, and the FY 2027 budget raises the program to $11 million, up $6 million from the prior year, with local administration through Housing Initiative Partnership. Congressman Steny Hoyer, who joined the event, said the aid had made a real difference for students and families.