The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office reported it has awarded $50,000 in “Bend the Arc” grants to 14 community groups this year. The grant is named after Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote: “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
Launched in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, alongside a series of reforms, the increasingly competitive grant program received a record 70 applications this year. Since 2021, the DA’s Office has given back more than $300,000 to the community.
The grants – which ranged from $2,500 to $5,000 – come from the DA’s Asset Forfeiture Fund, which is money seized from gangs, drug traffickers, and criminal organizations. To help repair some of the harm caused by those criminal enterprises, the DA’s Office invests the funds back into the communities that were preyed upon.
This year’s grants represent a wide range of community organizations: Sessions to teach incarcerated youth how to get back on track, stay out of custody, and potentially clear their criminal records; a self-defense course for Asian women; a group that helps connect Latino parents with disabled children to vital services; classes to help Vietnamese seniors avoid fraud; support and services for young mothers of color.
“Public safety goes way beyond prosecutions.” said District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a statement. “Investments in our most vulnerable neighbors get paid back a thousandfold with the community and law enforcement pulling together toward a better future for all.”
DA Rosen announced a series of 26 social justice reforms in 2020, including the Racial Justice Grant Program. All the reforms are intended to address racial discrimination and promote equality within the criminal justice system.
This year’s grant awardees are:
- A Brighter Day Youth Work Program
- Asian Women Empowered
- Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley
- Mayfair Neighborhood Advisory Council
- National Alliance on Mental Illness
- NSK Therapy
- Parents Helping Parents
- The Reach Foundation
- Rumble City Boxing
- San Jose State University
- Shine Together
- Silicon Valley Urban Debate League
- SOMOS Mayfair
- Vietnamese American Care
