Safe & Sound Awards $870,000 to Help Reach Youth During High-Crime Hours
As the economy continues to struggle, some funders are forced to reduce their normal grantmaking. That has not been the case with Safe & Sound, Inc., which announced recently grants to 29 community organizations as part of its Safe Places Initiative. The grants, totaling $870,000, will fund afterschool programs during high peak crime hours when youth are most at-risk from violence in their communities.
The competitive grant program run by Safe & Sound supports the organization’s crime reduction mission by directing needed dollars toward youth crime prevention programs that teach youth how to avoid high-risk situations and risky behaviors. “Safe & Sound is firmly committed to supporting youth-serving organizations in the highest crime neighborhoods of Milwaukee,” said Barbara Notestein, CEO of Safe & Sound, Inc. “We are pleased that 19 of the 21 tough neighborhoods served by Safe & Sound will have a Safe Place for youth in 2011,” she said. Two other organizations – Pathfinders and the Social Development Commission – operate citywide programs and are located slightly outside of the Safe & Sound boundaries. These agencies serve homeless and adjudicated youth, respectively.
The quality of the Safe Places programs and their support of the published criteria in the Request for Proposal made the selection process very competitive. Of 53 applications, 29 will receive grant awards.
Of those 29, fifteen (15) will receive grants of $40,000 each to operate what is known as S.A.F.E. programs. This group of Safe Places is required to serve a higher risk youth population, examples of which are 1st time youth offenders, drug and gang-involved youth or their wannabee counterparts, truants and drop-outs, teen parents, and youth experiencing negative police contacts, such as violating curfew or carrying weapons.
“We ask these Safe Places to engage youth whose negative behaviors may have come to the attention of parents, the community and schools,” said Norma J. Balentine, director of Safe Places. “These are the young people who may not seek out a Safe Place with a caring adult, but they are the youth who can benefit most from their presence,” she said. The S.A.F.E.-funded Safe Place sites operate structured programs that have the capacity to positively impact the behaviors and attitudes of youth and improve conditions of a community.
The remaining 14 Safe Places are considered Youth Together Drop-In Centers, and they are asked to serve as many youth as their sites can accommodate. These centers place a particular emphasis on engaging youth from the neighborhoods surrounding the Safe Place. The YTDICs are awarded grants of $20,000 each.
Note for editors: A list of the grantees and award amounts follow.
About Safe & Sound, Inc.
Safe & Sound is a community-based anti-crime initiative incorporating three interdependent crime prevention strategies to help reduce crime against, and by, youth ages 10-19. Strategies include: 1) positive alternatives for youth in Safe Places during traditionally high-crime hours, 2) neighborhood organizing with Community Partners serving as anti-crime liaisons with neighborhood residents, and 3) tough law enforcement, with local, state and federal authorities working together to reduce gang, gun and drug activity.
2011 Safe Places
S.A.F.E. Programs – $40,000
Agape Community Center
Boys & Girls Clubs – Davis Club
Boys & Girls Clubs – North Division CLC
COA Youth & Family Centers – Goldin Center
COA Youth & Family Centers – Riverwest/Harambee
Hmong American Friendship Association
Milwaukee LGBT Community Center
Neighorhood House of Milwaukee
Neu-Life Community Resource Center
Running Rebels Community Organization
Social Development Commission
United Community Center
Wisconsin Community Services – Holton Youth & Family Center
YMCA John C. Cudahy
ArtWorks for Milwaukee
Youth Together Drop-In Centers – $20,000
Boys & Girls Clubs – Daniels-Mardak Club
Boys & Girls Clubs – Fitzsimonds Club
Boys & Girls Clubs – Hillside Club
Boys & Girls Clubs – LaVarnway Club
Boys & Girls Clubs – Mary Ryan Club
Boys & Girls Clubs – Vel Phillips Club
HeartLove Place
Journey House
Latino Community Center
Milwaukee Christian Center
Northcott Neighborhood House
Pathfinders Youth Outreach Center
Silver Spring Neighborhood Center
YMCA of Metro Milwaukee – Parklawn
