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Allentown Receives $225,000 for Weed and Seed: Federal Funds to Boost Job Placement, Education Programs.

Posted on: Thursday, 13 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Manuel Gamiz Jr., The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

Apr. 13--U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan presented a $225,000 check to Allentown officials Wednesday to primarily fund the seeding portion of the city's Weed and Seed crime reduction and economic development program.

Mayor Ed Pawlowski said the federal grant money will be used on anti-drug education, gang violence reduction, Safe Havens for children and adults, and job placement and home ownership programs, but also will go toward increased police patrols.

"Our cooperation with the county, state and federal law enforcement remains key to successfully reducing crime and making our neighborhoods safer," Pawlowski said at a news conference at St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church.

"Weed and Seed, however, remains a keystone in our efforts to revitalize Allentown by involving the residents most affected by the problems and giving them the tools to make a difference in their neighborhoods."

The Weed and Seed program targets high crime neighborhoods by "weeding" out violent criminals and "seeding" those neighborhoods with crime prevention, intervention, treatment and economic development programs, Pawlowski said.

The city's target area consists of 48 square blocks, from Tilghman to Hamilton streets and from the Lehigh River to Eighth Street. The $225,000 grant is the third installment of a five-year program that began when the city was named a federal Weed and Seed site in September 2003. The city has received $678,000 in federal grants since then. Allentown was also named a state Weed and Seed site in 2002.

The Weed and Seed program has initiated programs aimed at developing resident leadership, recruiting block captains for each of the 48 blocks within the target area, developing three Safe Havens that offer activities for youths and adults, micro-enterprise programs to create new businesses, and home ownership programs to help tenants purchase rental properties, said Phyllis Alexander, Weed and Seed coordinator.

During Weed and Seed Week, which is next week, Olga Negron, a community organizer with the program, will be honored by Gov. Ed Rendell as Coordinator of the Year for the city's Weed and Seed Target Area Local Leadership Team.

Negron said the most important part of the program is that it helps to "develop leaders," and creates pride for residents.

"It makes you say, 'This is my city and this is what I can do to make it better,' " she said.

Other activities during the week will include the announcement of a police/resident community relations building workshop Monday. On Tuesday, Weed and Seed officials will announce a new employment coordinator and will inform the community about a micro-enterprise program.

Two new drug and alcohol outreach specialists who will implement the Weed and Seed Healthy Reconnection Program will be introduced on Wednesday, and the week will conclude with a ribbon cutting for the new Weed and Seed office at Buck Boyle Park.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Morning Call, Allentown, Pa.

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Source: The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania

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