Services

Financial assistance is available to help families cover funeral and burial costs after a homicide.

What we do

The Office of the Victim Advocate (OVA) works on behalf of victims of violent crime in Philadelphia. OVA assists victims and their loved ones, also known as co-victims, by:

Assessing their needs.
Identifying viable short-term and long-term solutions.
Connecting them with resources and services.

Additionally, OVA works towards:

Addressing systemic barriers at both state and local policy levels.
Advocating for victims’ rights within law enforcement systems and city government.
Supporting local victim service agency partners to enhance services delivered and increase their capacity to serve victims.

Connect

Address	100 S. Broad St. Suite 440 Philadelphia, PA 19102
Email	victim.advocate@phila.gov
Phone	Phone: (215) 686-2115

Announcements

Announcement

OPS Announces Open Application for 2027 Cycle of $25M City Grant Program

August 28, 2026

Announcement

OPS Announces Open Application for 2027 Cycle of $25M City Grant Program

The application period is now open for four Office of Public Safety Grants! Those grants are the Targeted Community Investment Grant (TCIG), the Community Capacity Grant (CCG), the Community Expansion Grant (CEG), [those three are collectively known as the City’s Anti-Violence Community Partnership Grants], and the Safety Through Care grant (STC) [formerly the Overdose Prevention & Community Healing fund (OPCH)]. Organizations in Philadelphia engaged in prevention or intervention work focused on violence or substance misuse can apply for grants from $10,000 to $1 million. Funding is available through the grants at various amounts to align with organizational experience and program scope:

TCIG ($10,000, $25,000, $40,000, $50,000) provides grants to new and growing organizations offering summer programming. Programs may be summer-long programs, single events, or a series of one-time events occurring during the grant period, June through September.
CCG ($75,000) supports organizations that have been a TCIG grantee within the past three cohorts and are ready to expand their capacity with larger awards over a longer grant period, March through December.
STC ($150,000) funds ten organizations that work to address substance misuse. These organizations will receive specialized technical assistance and become tertiary distributors of Narcan during the grant period, January through December.
CEG ($100,000, $250,000, $500,000, $750,000, $1,000,000) is designed for mid-sized, established organizations with demonstrated capacity to implement larger-scale programming and achieve measurable community impact. Funded organizations must offer programming for at least nine months of the grant period, January through December.

Eligible applicants include:

Individuals
Nonprofits
Fiscally sponsored organizations
LLCs
S-Corps
B-Corps

Updates to the application and grants have been designed to improve accessibility for smaller and grassroots organizations, better align funding with organizational capacity, and provide a clear pathway for growth across all funding levels.

Additionally, this year’s funding cycle updates reflect feedback from partners and stakeholders to ensure a clear, aligned approach and consistent messaging across the application, review, and implementation process.

What are OPS grants?

The Office of Public Safety grant program funds community-based violence and substance misuse prevention and intervention programs that improve public safety, increase opportunities for self-development and care, and build a stronger sense of community throughout neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence and substance misuse.

OPS grantees use trauma-informed approaches to gun violence and substance misuse, build resiliency in their communities, mediate conflicts, and promote social or economic empowerment. Examples of past programs include, but are not limited to:

Resource fairs
Outreach events
Job training and career development
Neighborhood and community beautification
Education events and workshops
Community engagement

How can I apply?

The common application for all four grants opens Friday, August 28, 2026, at 12:00 PM. The application period closes on September 28, 2026, at 5:00 PM.

Information Sessions will be held virtually to support applicants throughout the process. Sessions will be offered on the following dates:

Wednesday, September 2, 2026 6:00 PM
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 12:00 PM
Thursday September 10, 2026 6:00 PM
Monday, September 14, 2026 6:00 PM
Wednesday, September 16, 2026 12:00 PM
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 6:00 PM
Thursday, September 24, 2026 12:00 PM
Monday, September 28, 2026 12:00 PM

To learn more about the grants, you can register for an info session and apply online.

For more information about the grants, email AntiViolenceGrants@phila.gov.

Announced on: August 28, 2026 Office of the Victim Advocate, Office of Public Safety, Division of Safe Neighborhoods, Division of Reentry, Division of Criminal Justice, Town Watch Integrated Services

Submit a complaint or a request for assistance

You can use our contact form to request support from the Office of the Victim Advocate.

Resources

OVA resource guide

Use our guide to learn about community resources for violence prevention and victim services.

Leadership

Adara L. Combs, Esq.

Executive Director

adara.combs@phila.gov

Adara L. Combs, Esq. was confirmed by City Council and appointed by Mayor Jim Kenney to lead the Office of the Victim Advocate (OVA) at the end of January 2022. The office opened its doors on February 7, 2022.

Adara comes to OVA after a decade-long career with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where she served as a diversion coordinator, prosecutor, and supervisor. She is a lifelong Philadelphian, Philadelphia High School for Girls’ graduate, and alum of both Franklin & Marshall College and the Beasley School of Law at Temple University.

After having served as the voice for many families who were victimized and tragically losing loved ones in her own family to violence, she works tirelessly to support victims of this City. Adara L. Combs, Esq. knows firsthand that the pursuit of justice involves all of us and can only be won through collaborative leadership while working in and with our communities.

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Heather Arias

Deputy Director

heather.arias@phila.gov

Heather Arias serves as the deputy director for the Office of the Victim Advocate within the City of Philadelphia Managing Director’s Office.

Arias began her career in victim advocacy in 2017 where she proudly served as the homicide preliminary hearing coordinator with the Families of Murder Victims (FMV) program housed in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit. In this role, Arias notified and accompanied witnesses and co-victims of homicide to upcoming court hearings and supported them throughout the criminal justice process once an arrest had been made.

In 2020, Arias was promoted to director of Victim/Witness Services at the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia where she oversaw the daily operations of two victim service programs, Families of Murder Victims (FMV) and West/Southwest Victim Services, which provide services to victims and co-victims of the 12th, 16th, 18th, and 19th Police Districts.

Arias was raised in Miami, Florida, studied criminal justice at Temple University, and currently serves as 2021–2023 chair of the Philadelphia Coalition for Victim Advocacy.