YPJF Partners With Erie Leaders to Support Shooting Victims Families
ERIE, Pennsylvania, October 15, 2026. The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation is working to identify meaningful ways to support families affected by the Erie shooting, after connecting with city and community leaders involved in local care efforts.
The Foundation, also known as The Uvalde Foundation for Kids, said its Founder and President, Daniel Chapin, was connected with Rev. Melinda Hall of the Erie Spiritual Coalition following outreach to the City of Erie. The connection came through the Mayor’s Chief of Staff and is intended to help the Foundation better understand the needs of affected families and determine where outside assistance could be useful.
The introduction gives YPJF a way to listen before acting. Foundation leaders said they want any assistance to fit into the support already being organized in Erie rather than duplicate or disrupt local work.
“We appreciate the response from the Mayor’s Office and the work being done by local community leaders,” Chapin said. “Our goal is to listen, understand what families need and find appropriate ways to help. We want any assistance we provide to complement the work already underway in Erie.”
YPJF is seeking to understand family needs before offering support
The Foundation said it is exploring possible avenues of assistance for families affected by the shooting. At this stage, the organization has not announced a specific program, dollar amount, or timeline for aid.
Instead, the early step is focused on learning what families need and how support can be provided with care.
That approach matters after a violent incident. Families may face immediate concerns, long-term needs, or both. Some needs may be practical. Others may involve grief support, memorial planning, youth services, or help navigating the difficult days that follow community violence.
The Foundation’s statement points to a measured response. Rather than arriving with a fixed plan, YPJF is turning first to people already connected to Erie families and the local response.
The connection with Rev. Hall places the Foundation in contact with a community care network that is already active. Rev. Hall and the Erie Spiritual Coalition are helping coordinate support for affected families, according to the Foundation’s announcement.
That type of coordination helps outside groups avoid overlap. It also helps ensure that assistance reaches families through trusted local channels.
The Mayor’s Office helped connect the Foundation with local care efforts
The Foundation’s outreach to the City of Erie led to a connection through the Mayor’s Chief of Staff. That connection brought Chapin into contact with Rev. Melinda Hall, who is involved in coordinating care with the Erie Spiritual Coalition.
The role of local government in this type of response can be important, even when direct aid comes from other organizations. City offices often know which community leaders are involved, which groups are already serving families, and where new offers of help may fit.
In this case, the Foundation said it appreciated the response from the Mayor’s Office. Chapin’s comments also made clear that YPJF does not intend to replace local efforts.
The goal, according to the statement, is to add support where it is appropriate.
“Our goal is to listen, understand what families need and find appropriate ways to help.”
The Foundation’s use of the word “listen” is central to the announcement. In moments of public grief, families can receive attention from many directions. Some support is helpful. Some can feel overwhelming. Listening first allows organizations to understand what is needed, what has already been offered, and what families do not want.
Community-led support remains central to the response
The announcement places Erie community leaders at the center of the response. YPJF’s role, as described by Chapin, is to learn from those leaders and look for ways to assist.
That distinction is important. After a shooting, local clergy, neighborhood groups, family advocates, youth mentors, and city officials may already be providing care in different ways. Those efforts can include:
Coordinating communication with families
Helping connect families to trusted resources
Supporting youth and relatives affected by the violence
Assisting with remembrance or memorial needs
Identifying gaps that outside organizations may help fill
The Foundation has not said which of these areas it may support in Erie. Its announcement states only that it is exploring potential avenues and will continue working to identify appropriate ways to help.
That leaves space for the Erie Spiritual Coalition and other local leaders to guide the next steps based on family needs.
For families affected by violence, support can change over time. Immediate needs often look different from needs that emerge weeks or months later. Some families may need privacy. Some may need help with arrangements. Some may seek trauma-informed services for young people. Others may need assistance navigating public attention.
A community-led process can account for those differences more carefully than a one-size-fits-all response.
The Foundation’s work grew from the Uvalde tragedy
The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation was established following the May 2022 tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The organization is also known as The Uvalde Foundation for Kids.
Its work includes youth advocacy, violence prevention, crisis response, emergency assistance, and memorial initiatives for young people and families affected by violence.
Those areas of work align with the Foundation’s current outreach in Erie. The Foundation’s announcement did not claim that its experience in Uvalde gives it all the answers for Erie. Instead, it framed the outreach as a chance to learn from Erie leaders and support families in a way that respects local care efforts.
That is a careful line for any national or outside organization to walk. Each community affected by violence has its own history, relationships, and needs. The Foundation’s current position is to explore, listen, and identify where help may be useful.
The next step is identifying appropriate assistance
The Foundation said it will continue working to identify appropriate ways to support the Erie community. No final plan has been announced.
That may mean the next steps depend on conversations with Rev. Hall, the Erie Spiritual Coalition, the Mayor’s Office, and others involved in family care. It may also depend on what families identify as most urgent or most helpful.
The phrase “appropriate ways to support” is meaningful in this context. Appropriate support means aid that fits the situation. It means help that is coordinated, respectful, and guided by people close to the families.
In crisis response, that can be as important as the support itself.
If assistance is offered without coordination, families may be asked to repeat painful details. They may receive overlapping offers from multiple groups while other needs go unmet. A coordinated approach reduces those risks.
YPJF’s statement suggests that the Foundation wants to be part of that coordinated effort, not separate from it.
Why coordination matters after community violence
When violence affects a community, public attention can arrive quickly. Outside groups, donors, advocates, and media may all look for ways to respond. For families, that attention can bring help, but it can also bring stress.
Coordination helps keep the focus where it belongs.
A local leader or coalition can help answer several key questions before outside aid is offered:
What have families already received?
What needs have families directly expressed?
Which needs are urgent, and which may arise later?
Who is already providing support?
What boundaries have families requested?
How can assistance be offered without creating confusion?
The Foundation’s connection with Rev. Hall appears intended to answer these kinds of questions in Erie.
It also reflects a broader principle in crisis response. Support should follow the needs of affected families, rather than the assumptions of outside helpers.
What is known about the Foundation’s current role
Based on the Foundation’s announcement, several points are clear:
What is known | What has not been announced |
YPJF reached out to the City of Erie. | A specific aid package has not been announced. |
The Mayor’s Chief of Staff connected Daniel Chapin with Rev. Melinda Hall. | No dollar amount has been released. |
Rev. Hall is helping coordinate community care and support for affected families. | No timeline for assistance has been provided. |
The Foundation is exploring where it may help. | No final program details have been shared. |
YPJF wants its support to complement local work. | No list of recipient families has been made public. |
This limited scope is important. The announcement is not a final aid report. It is a notice that the Foundation has connected with Erie leaders and is working through local channels to explore next steps.
That framing avoids overstating what has happened. It also keeps attention on the process now underway.
Organization information
The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation is also known as The Uvalde Foundation for Kids. The organization was established after the May 2022 tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
The Foundation describes its work as including:
Youth advocacy
Violence prevention
Crisis response
Emergency assistance
Memorial initiatives for young people and families affected by violence
The organization lists the following public contact information:
Youth Peace & Justice Foundation
Also known as The Uvalde Foundation for Kids
Phone: (254) 499-8027
Website: youthpeaceandjusticefoundation.com
Charity ID: 88-3268749
The focus remains on Erie families
The Foundation’s next steps will depend on continued communication with Erie community leaders and a clearer understanding of what affected families need.
For now, YPJF’s role is one of connection, listening, and preparation. The organization has opened a line of communication with Rev. Melinda Hall and the Erie Spiritual Coalition through the Mayor’s Office. It is exploring assistance, but it has not announced final details.
The key point is that support is being considered through local coordination. That gives families, community leaders, and the Foundation a better chance to identify help that is respectful, useful, and aligned with the care already underway in Erie.
