Cleveland Asks Community for Advice and Help in Addressing Gangs
Call goes out for anti-gang proposals
Input sought on spending $2.5 million federal grant
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Mike Tobin
Plain Dealer Reporter
U.S. Attorney Greg White has $1.5 million to spend in select Cleveland neighborhoods to keep people from joining gangs and he is looking for ideas on how to use it.
"This is a chance for nonprofits and other groups to come together and address the gang issue," White said. "This is Cleveland's best chance in a long time to have a meaningful impact on the future."
Federal officials chose Cleveland and five other U.S. cities for the Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative, which comes with a $2.5 million federal grant for each city.
Police will get $1 million to spend on increased enforcement targeting gangs. Another $1 million will be spent on trying to keep children who live in the Hough and St. Clair/Superior neighborhoods from joining gangs. The remaining $500,000 will go toward trying to prevent people returning from prison to those neighborhoods from joining gangs.
A task force set up to make recommendations on how the money will be spent wants guidance from nonprofits, church groups and other community organizations. The money will be doled out in increments of no more than $100,000 a year for two years. The deadline for proposals is July 12.
"We're inviting any organization that has something to offer in gang prevention," White said.
The proposals should address issues such as the need for mentoring at-risk youths, preventing truancy and fighting the culture that promotes gangs.
Cleveland has more than 90 loosely organized gangs, officials said. In 2005, two boys -- ages 11 and 16 -- died in gang-related killings outside the Lonnie Burten Recreation Center. The Goonies gang terrorized southeast Cleveland neighborhoods for months last summer, culminating in the death of an elderly woman.
Councilman Kevin Conwell, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, said the task force is wise to ask for help from organizations in the neighborhoods where the money will be spent.
"You have to have relationships with the other stakeholders in the community," Conwell said. "If you have that, it can work."
The task force, which White leads, must also assess what types of programs already exist in the targeted neighborhoods in order to avoid repetition. Then, the task force will review the proposals and make recommendations to the Justice Department, which has final authority on doling out the money.
Proposals must include detailed plans about what organizers hope to accomplish and how the money will be spent. Special consideration will be given to projects that generate other contributions and will last after the federal grant expires in two years, White said.
Input sought on spending $2.5 million federal grant
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Mike Tobin
Plain Dealer Reporter
U.S. Attorney Greg White has $1.5 million to spend in select Cleveland neighborhoods to keep people from joining gangs and he is looking for ideas on how to use it.
"This is a chance for nonprofits and other groups to come together and address the gang issue," White said. "This is Cleveland's best chance in a long time to have a meaningful impact on the future."
Federal officials chose Cleveland and five other U.S. cities for the Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative, which comes with a $2.5 million federal grant for each city.Police will get $1 million to spend on increased enforcement targeting gangs. Another $1 million will be spent on trying to keep children who live in the Hough and St. Clair/Superior neighborhoods from joining gangs. The remaining $500,000 will go toward trying to prevent people returning from prison to those neighborhoods from joining gangs.
A task force set up to make recommendations on how the money will be spent wants guidance from nonprofits, church groups and other community organizations. The money will be doled out in increments of no more than $100,000 a year for two years. The deadline for proposals is July 12.
"We're inviting any organization that has something to offer in gang prevention," White said.
The proposals should address issues such as the need for mentoring at-risk youths, preventing truancy and fighting the culture that promotes gangs.
Cleveland has more than 90 loosely organized gangs, officials said. In 2005, two boys -- ages 11 and 16 -- died in gang-related killings outside the Lonnie Burten Recreation Center. The Goonies gang terrorized southeast Cleveland neighborhoods for months last summer, culminating in the death of an elderly woman.
Councilman Kevin Conwell, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, said the task force is wise to ask for help from organizations in the neighborhoods where the money will be spent.
"You have to have relationships with the other stakeholders in the community," Conwell said. "If you have that, it can work."
The task force, which White leads, must also assess what types of programs already exist in the targeted neighborhoods in order to avoid repetition. Then, the task force will review the proposals and make recommendations to the Justice Department, which has final authority on doling out the money.
Proposals must include detailed plans about what organizers hope to accomplish and how the money will be spent. Special consideration will be given to projects that generate other contributions and will last after the federal grant expires in two years, White said.
posted by Braye Cloud at
7:46 AM
5 Comments:
i live in solon ohio and visit downtown cleveland often. In Public Square there are thugs all over the place. The city should do something about that. My frined was jumped just waling out of the Key Tower. Public Square is a disgrace to Cleveland. Just clean it up. It's not that hard. Please do something about this!
do you call them thugs because they are black kids cause theres really no thugging to be done downtown come on now thats just hidden racism those kids just don't have anywhere to go if the people who got these bis grants to keep em in line did the right stuff with them like extracuricular activities they wouldn't be there but i bet out there in solon there a whole bunch of stuff for those kids to do !
yea its true man...
idk how it is ova der in solon
and idk how it is ova der in ohio
but over here in jersey
blacks and us hispanics anlways get put down and made to be thugs
just because alot of our younger community stays out on the streets.
but its not like the rich people from the country or somthing is paying to keep us out the streets either
Hey Rogel and Latrice,
Stop having illegitimate children so your kids have male role models. That might get rid of some of the thugs on the streets. I live in Cleveland and what Ricky said is not closet racism, it's fact. People get robbed all the time on Euclid and Ontario if they are out of the view of the security guards in the buildings. Hell, the mall downtown has a nobody under 18 rule w/o parents and limits the amount of teenagers that are allowed in because of robberies and jacka$$ behavior.
And Rogel A., we do pay for people to stay off the streets, it's called welfare and my tax dollars pay for it. That doesn't work, and I believe welfare should be wiped out, it breeds this kind of behavior. You have too many idiots with too much time on their hands, too little brain matter upstairs and every excuse in the book.
Hey Chris,
If you want to talk about bias or racism, read your comment. Starting your comment by implying that the two individuals above are having illegitimate children because they are black and Hispanic is far from "closet" racism, it is "good ol' fashioned" racism. I'm a “half breed”, both Hispanic and white, as well as what a white collared, closed minded, misinformed individual such as yourself would call a "bastard" child. I call you close-minded and misinformed because you choose to imply that Hispanics and blacks are the only ethnicities having illegitimate children. While the majority may be from a minority culture, do not forget that whites too have illegitimate children.
Also, just because a child is illegitimate does not mean that they do not have a male role model. I was born without a father and my mother raised me until I was ten I was then passed off to my cousin. However, even though I did not have a father, I did have male role models; they were my grandfather and my cousin. Also note, a father is not always a good role model, if you are a father, you would probably be a good example with your narrow vision and willingness to make assumptions and comments with such a lack of knowledge. Many children without fathers use older siblings, relatives, and/or older peers as role models and it is the guardian's job to make sure they idolize the right character.
I also choose to call you misinformed because you are wrong in saying that welfare and your tax dollars pay for people to stay off the streets. Latrice stated that these kids need extracurricular activities and/or other places to go rather than the streets. I tell you this; welfare does not pay for event centers or youth clubs as Latrice is suggesting we need. Also, I suggest you re-read Latrice's comment to Ricky. Latrice was stating that Ricky's calling the youth "thugs" because they were probably minorities, was racist, NOT that he was stating his friend was jumped and the streets may be dangerous. It may be a fact that his friend was jumped and Euclid and Ontario may be dangerous but it is NOT a fact that black or Hispanic youth/illegitimate children are "thugs".
So, before you make any more ill-informed comments, I suggest you do your research and learn what welfare actually pays for. I also recommend that you read prior comments a little more closely so that you understand what those people are saying before you reply in a manner that makes you look more "illegitimate" than these youth you call "thugs".
PS. Thank you for emphasizing Latrice’s point that these youth need a place to go, since the mall (a common youth hangout) downtown has a nobody under 18 rule w/o parents. To keep these youth under 18 whose parents may be at their one, two, or maybe three jobs off the streets, maybe we do need more recreation or event centers.
Post a Comment
<< Home