BIRMINGHAM (October 19) – Congressman Spencer Bachus (AL-6) spoke today at a news conference at Samford University announcing a collaborative project to promote student safety at five colleges and universities in the Birmingham area.

Samford University has received a $499,551 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice for an initiative called “Safety in Numbers” that will also involve the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham-Southern College, the University of Montevallo, and Miles College. The schools will partner with a number of human services and counseling agencies in the community. The project is designed to provide a comprehensive approach to campus safety and the prevention of violence, especially against female students.

“We can be proud that five of our outstanding institutions of higher education in the Birmingham area have come together for a project that should serve as a national model for promoting student safety and particularly the safety of women. This is a unique approach to personal safety that involves not just traditional campus security and law enforcement, but the expertise of human services and counseling agencies in our community. It recognizes that the best way to deal with violence is to prevent it in the first place, and there is every reason to believe that young lives will be saved by the initiative being announced here at Samford University today,” said Congressman Bachus in a statement.