Chicopee, Holyoke gets grant

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

Chicopee and Holyoke officials heard last week the two cities will receive $890,000 of the nearly $11 million in Shannon Grant Awards.

This year's funding aimed at supporting local efforts to combat gang violence is a slight increase from the $888,749 the two communities received for their first time cooperative effort last year.

"This grant will allow Chicopee and Holyoke to continue working together and to build upon the successes realized through the 2006 Shannon Initiative," State Sen. Michael Knapik said. "Chief Ferraro, Chief Scott, and many other community leaders have communicated to me how important these resources are in combating the scourge of gang violence," he continued.

Chicopee and Holyoke were two of the 39 communities to share in the grant money. Boston received $3 million while Springfield was awarded $1.4 million. Chicopee, Holyoke and Springfield were the only communities in Western Massachusetts to receive the funding.

According to information released by the Executive Office of Public Safety, the awards were made to communities based on violent and property crime rates, the percentage of the population between the ages of 15 and 19, the number of young homicide victims and the quality of application to link a variety of approaches to the problem.

The grant is named in memory of Senator Charles E. Shannon who passed away in early 2006. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and prior to joining the Legislature, he served as a Police Officer.

Holyoke Police Chief Anthony Scott told The Chicopee Herald that he was pleased Governor Deval Patrick had re-instated the grants. He said the money would be used to deal with gangs in the paper city.

"We keep them [the gangs] off-balance," he said.

Three to six officers are assigned to a street detail dealing with gang violence.

Speaking on the fact the two cities saw only a slight increase in funding, Scott said "It's better than a sharp stick in the eye."

Chicopee Chief John Ferraro said, that at press time, final plans in Chicopee have not been made on the use of the funding, but he would like to continue the Police Department's collaboration with the Chicopee Boys & Girls Club and have additional patrols in the neighborhoods surrounding the club.

A chief component of the anti-gang strategy are programs with organizations such as the Elms College, the New England Farmworkers Council, the Chicopee Boys & Girls Club, Career Point and Holyoke Housing Authority that are designed to address the needs of at-risk youth and prevent them from becoming involved with gangs.

Throughout the state 7,100 youth participated in program such as the ones in Chicopee and Holyoke.

State Rep. Joseph Wagner said, "This grant program provides local law enforcement and civic organizations with a proven tool to communicate a zero tolerance policy for gang activity. Partnerships have been established that will benefit these two cities for many years to come."

"The communities that received awards clearly demonstrated the depth of the problems they were facing and also showed a commitment to solutions that are proving to be successful in preventing and suppressing youth violence and crime. Arrests and convictions are not the only outcomes that demonstrate effectives," Secretary of Public Safety Kevin Burke said.