City gets $1.4 million to help youth

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD City programs to keep at-risk teens off of the streets and additional law enforcement efforts to combat youth violence and gangs have received $1.4 million from state's Shannon Grant program.

Mayor Charles Ryan said at the press conference on Tuesday, "This is a day of celebration in Springfield."

Ryan said Gov. Deval Patrick had left the grant money out of his budget, but the Legislature had restored it. Ryan added the funding enabled social service agencies in the city to work with law enforcement to combat gang violence.

The city had received the same amount last year, the first year of the grant. Locally, Holyoke and Chicopee also received grant funding.

Ryan noted the District Attorney's Office and the Hampden County Sheriff were not included as line items in the city's Shannon Grant award. Both agencies are applying for state funds through the Byrne Grant, a federal program from the Department of Justice administered by each state. If the offices do not receive Byrne Grant funding, they will share in the $500,000 of the Shannon Grant that has been allocated to the police.

Police Commissioner Edward Flynn said the Shannon Grant awards are an "exciting opportunity to build relationships."

Many representatives of the social service agencies in the room explained how the money was used last year. For the Boys and Girls Club and the Dunbar Community Center the additional funding allowed the organizations to stay open at night with programs. The Massachusetts Career Development Institute focused on job development. The Urban League funded a group of peer leaders to work in the city's neighborhoods. The YMCA extended its recreation offerings. The New North Citizens Council had a summer employment program for teens.

Ryan said it is difficult to measure the first year's success, because it is a preventive program.

Addressing the status of crime in the city, Flynn said that in 2006, Springfield was "bucking a lot of significant trends" in certain crime categories. This year, however, there has been increased violence in many middle-sized cities. Flynn was going to attend a conference in Chicago, Ill., of police chiefs from cities the size of Springfield to discuss what is happening.

The agencies which received funding this year include: AWAKE, $68,902; Spanish American Union, $14,238; Urban League, $37,000; South End Community Center, $16,800; Spectra Center, $56,400; New North Citizens Council, $66,894; Puerto Rican Cultural Center, $64,000; Salvation Army, $25,200; Boys and Girls Club, $62,584; Massachusetts Career Development Institute, $210,641; Northern Educational Service, $54,500; YMCA, $40,160; Dunbar Community Center, $86,003; Martin Luther King Center, $50,000; and Police Department, $500,000.