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'Weed and Seed' makes a difference in neighborhood

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



HOLYOKE Over a year ago, many residents of the Lyman Terrace neighborhood were afraid to leave their homes. Today, thanks to the Weed and Seed program, a noticeable and positive difference has come to the downtown residential area.

That was the message delivered by a number of officials at a press conference Wednesday, conducted in the community room of the Lyman Terrace Apartments.

Lyman Terrace is a complex of 167 apartments that was built in 1939.

Officials gathered there to announce that the Holyoke Boys & Girls Club received a second round of funding for the program of $175,000 with an additional $50,000 in special emphasis funds. The Weed and Seed law enforcement and prevention partners will share the $175,000.

Weed and Seed is a program from the Community Capacity Development Office, which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice. Locally, it is a partnership between law enforcement agencies, human service providers, businesses and residents with the goal of reducing crime and revitalizing targeted communities.

The name "Weed and Seed" refers to weeding out crime and seeding in healthy development according to a press release distributed at the event.

The Holyoke Boys & Girls Club is the lead agency and is designated as a "safe haven." The other partners include the Holyoke Police Department, the Mayor's Office, the Holyoke Housing Authority, Holyoke Juvenile Court, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Attorney General's Office, the District Attorney's Office, the Department of Youth Services, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, CareerPoint and the New England Farmworkers Council.

The money provided by the first grant has been used to add a community policing presence in the neighborhood. Police Captain Allan Fletcher said policing efforts have substantially reduced the sale of drugs in the area as well shootings.

There are two community police officers operating out of the community room 16 hours a day, seven days a week. Fletcher noted the officers volunteered for this assignment, which allows them to become part of a community. He said that the department is currently looking at other neighborhoods where this approach would help.

"It's working and that's what counts," Fletcher added.

"The atmosphere has changed," Ray Murphy, executive director of the Holyoke Housing Authority, said. "Many were living in fear."

Murphy noted that 11 residents were evicted for illegal activities.

The community room is now a center for various supervised youth activities. A bank of computers on one side of the room is part of the homework help and tutoring program. The Boys & Girls Club transports children from this site to its main facility for swimming and basketball.

The New England Farmworkers Council began a GED program for the neighborhood and CareerPoint has hosted two workshops to help ex-offenders find work.

Bruce Thompson, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club, said that, because of the Weed and Seed program's success, they might be able to attract additional funding for programs from other sources.

"I can't tell how much the city of Holyoke appreciates this collaborative effort," Mayor Michael Sullivan said.