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Curbing youth, gang violence

Eagle-Tribune - 2/8/2018

Feb. 08--Three Merrimack Valley cities have received a combined $344,700 in state funding to help curb youth gang violence.

Each year, Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov Karyn Polito award funds to communities and local partners through the Senator Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative. The grants are designed to help communities develop and implement a plan to prevent youth violence and gang problems.

"The Shannon Initiative employs a toolkit of techniques, from education to diversion and suppression, that help enable communities to make a significant impact on youth violence and gang activity," Baker said in a statement. "The commonwealth has formed a number of important partnerships with cities and organizations through this initiative and we look forward to continuing that work this year to positively impact the futures of many young people and make our streets safer for everyone."

Shannon grants are awarded to communities based on several factors: crime rate, a demonstrated high level of youth violence and gang problems, a comprehensive plan to work with multi-disciplinary partners, and a commitment to coordinated prevention and intervention strategies. They are administered through the state Executive Office of Public Safety.

Lawrence received $214,700 in this round of grants, while Haverhill and Methuen received a combined grant of $130,000, according to a press release. The latter two cities share grants under the program.

UMass Lowell also received a combined $53,906 to work with Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen as a Local Action Research Partner. Overall, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded $5.65 million in grant funding this year to 15 sites covering 27 cities, along with 12 research partners, according to a press release from the state.

In Lawrence, the Shannon grant funding provides at-risk youth between the ages of 10 and 24 with educational and recreational activities, as well as leadership and vocational training, through programs such as Junior Police Academy, Operation Nightlight and open gyms. The funding also supports crime analysis and directed patrols, said Det. Thomas Cuddy.

The programs are run through partnerships with several community organizations including the YMCA, YWCA, Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence, Lawrence-Methuen Community Coalition working with Family Services of the Merrimack Valley, ACT Lawrence, Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund, and Change The Play, Cuddy said.

Haverhill and Methuen received additional funding this year to introduce a Street Gang Outreach Worker, provided by UTEC Inc., a Lowell-based organization that works with at-risk youth in Lowell and Lawrence, through programs that nurture them and stoke their ambitions toward achieving social and economic success, according to its website.

The outreach worker will go into neighborhoods with high rates of gang organization and activity to implement strategies to prevent at-risk youth from becoming involved with gangs in the first place, according to a press release from Linda Dean Campbell.

"Police alone cannot solve the gang problem, you have to give (youth) other alternatives, you have to provide hope for them, you have to find jobs for them," said Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini.

A rash of violent, gang-related incidents last year convinced Fiorentini of the need for the outreach worker, someone "kids would trust and talk to" he said. He met with UTEC representatives over the summer about their programs and had the outreach worker incorporated into this year's Shannon grant application.

Along with going into neighborhoods across Haverhill and Methuen, the outreach worker will also work with youth who are currently in jail, to get them involved with UTEC programs upon their release, Fiorentini said.

Beyond the outreach worker, Haverhill and Methuen police work together under the Shannon grants on undercover drug enforcement and interdiction. Methuen police also use a portion of the funding for a homework center and other youth activities in conjunction with Methuen Arlington Neighborhood (MAN) Inc.Haverhill police work with partners including the Haverhill Boys & Girls Club, YWCA, Whittier Regional Vocation Technical High School and the Power of Self Education (POSE) Inc., in the Mount Washington area.

The Haverhill and Methuen mayors both praised the local legislative delegation for helping to secure Shannon grant funding for another year.

State Rep. Andy Vargas, D-Haverhill, said the Shannon grant funding has been "essential to Haverhill's efforts to address gang violence."

The funding similarly helps in Methuen, where Democratic state Rep. Linda Dean Campbell said "these grants are effective and provide our youth with opportunities to lead productive lives."

State Rep. Frank Moran, D-Lawrence, praised the Shannon grants as "an important part of the equation as we work to reduce crime in our community. Engaging our under-served youth and providing alternatives to the path towards gang activity is critical as we try to solve this broader issue."

Staff writer Jill Harmacinski contributed to this report. Follow her on Twitter @EagleTribJill. Follow Lisa Kashinsky on Twitter @lisakashinsky.

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