Philadelphia, PA — CeaseFirePA Education Fund’s new analysis of data from the Gun Violence Archive for 2025 shows that gun homicides in Pennsylvania fell 46.5% since their 2022 peak. In 2025, 495 people died in Pennsylvania from gun homicides — a 15% decline from 2024.
Many communities are safer than they’ve been in decades because of this decline.
CeaseFirePA attributed this sharp, sustained decrease to community violence intervention (CVI) programs. Commonwealth funding for CVI programs started in 2021, and was complemented by $75 million in federal funding during the pandemic, which ended in 2024. State legislators raised CVI funding to $62 million last year.
“If this were any other public health issue, smoking, cancer, or road deaths, permanent, dedicated resources would flood into these proven solutions. Instead, we see a federal abdication of funding for CVI programs. We welcome the recent Commonwealth CVI funding increase, Governor Shapiro and legislative leaders should continue to invest in these proven solutions. This decline is not an accident. It’s the direct result of hundreds of dedicated individuals working in community-based groups like Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley or Group Violence Intervention York, PA, as profiled in our report last year, that stop violence before it happens.” said Adam Garber, CeaseFirePA Education Fund’s Executive Director.
CVI programs combine real-time data with trusted local relationships, focusing support on people most at risk of being involved in violence. Outreach workers help de-escalate conflict, connect individuals to services, and intervene before shootings occur. These approaches have strengthened public safety infrastructure across the state and nation.
CeaseFirePA is calling for investing $104.8 Million in Community Violence Intervention programs in the 2026 -2027 State budget. Without continued investment, the Commonwealth risks losing this life-saving momentum that communities have fought so hard to build.
The Gun Violence Archive is an online archive of gun violence incidents collected from over 7,500 law enforcement, media, government and commercial sources daily in an effort to provide near-real time data about the results of gun violence.
However, these sources miss almost all suicides by firearms, which is the leading cause of gun deaths in Pennsylvania, and increased between 2023 and 2024. Yet suicide by firearm remains largely absent from headlines, a missing conversation CeaseFirePA are starting.
“We cannot afford to lose the ground we’ve won,” said Adam Garber. “Every day these GVI programs operate, they prevent violence, trauma, and instability. If Pennsylvania leaders don’t continue to invest in our communities’ safety, more people will die unnecessarily.” said Adam Garber.
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ABOUT THE DATA
The Gun Violence Archive (www.gunviolencearchive.org) is an independent database that compiles real-time reports of gun violence through public media and law enforcement reporting. While not comprehensive (most suicides are not included), it offers a current snapshot of nationwide trends in shooting incidents and homicides.
CeaseFirePA is calling on Pennsylvania lawmakers to:
- Commit to investing $104.8 Million in Community Violence Intervention programs in the 2026 -2027 State budget. Invest more to Save More.
If Pennsylvania spent the same amount per resident as Massachusetts on CVI, it would make a $104.8 million investment for its 13,100,000 residents. If the state attained a similar cost-to-benefit ratio as Massachusetts’ SSYI program, it could realize savings of $733 million.
More information
Our 2025 report ‘INVEST MORE TO SAVE MORE – Why a $100 million annual investment will save more lives and more money in Pennsylvania.”
