Erie County Legislature wants more permanent change after temporary assistance leaves East Side community

That includes creating a system to analyze effectiveness of anti-violence programs, improving access to coping strategies for traumatic experiences and increasing funding for security upgrades for East Side commercial corridors.

Chairwoman April Baskin, who sponsored two resolutions in the wake of the mass shooting, pointed out that in July of last year, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz called gun violence in Erie County a public health crisis and established a task force to address alarming community crime data.

That data showed Erie County's rate of violent crimes committed with a firearm in 2020 was highest among New York’s 62 counties.

The task force was expected to coordinate anti-violence efforts and spending among numerous county departments and local law enforcement agencies, increase funding for violence prevention programs and use new strategies to reduce illegal firearm use.

But it comes to answering the question of how well was the money spent and what difference these county-supported programs are making in turning the tide against gun violence, Baskin said, "We're not talking about that."

The only thing she knows is that contract agencies spent the money and followed the rules, she said. 

"We really need to understand where the county is placing resources to eliminate gun violence," she told fellow legislators, "how it's being done, the impact it's having on various ZIP codes in our community and that our investment is bringing some form of return so that we can eliminate some of the tragedies that we have locally."

To create more accountability, the Legislature on Thursday unanimously approved Baskin's proposal requiring the county's Central Police Services Department to submit an annual anti-gun violence report that outlines how money is being spent on these initiatives and the data outcomes for all the programs the county pays to support.

The Legislature also voted unanimously in favor of a separate Baskin proposal, called "Resiliency in Communities After Stress and Trauma," that would:

• Create a permanent location for free, county-sponsored trauma counseling services.

Over the past two weeks, the county has contracted with multiple mental health agencies to provide free counseling at the Johnnie B. Wiley sports complex near the site of the Tops shooting. Other federal, state and city agencies have also been providing support services at 347 East Ferry St. These services, however, are not meant to continue beyond the next few weeks or months.

Baskin said she'd like these types of services to have a more permanent home.

Poloncarz said that he’s working with the White House on a plan to create a resiliency center to offer mental health and grief counseling going forward, noting that both the president and vice president have expressed ongoing support for Erie County "for the long run."

• Offer "psychological first aid" training to neighborhood organizations, faith institutions and other residents. Unlike more intensive mental health counseling sessions, this type of trauma support is meant to offer more immediate and quick conversation to help individuals get through their daily tasks of living.

Baskin said she was excited to learn about this method of helping trauma survivors through the U.S. Department of Justice staff that is currently present in the aftermath of the shooting. She wants to see those methods shared and spread.

"When someone is having a bad day at work, they don't automatically think, 'I need a therapist,' " Baskin said. "We need to train actual community members, block club leaders, teachers, executive directors of community centers to be able to help people get to the grocery store again, feel safe with cross the street, with sending their children to school." 

• Create a plan to better invest in development in Buffalo's East Side commercial corridors and communities of color. That would include making more money available for security upgrades for small businesses and public gathering spaces.

Staff Reporter Janet Gramza contributed to this story.