Haverhill, Methuen receive anti-gang grant

Feb. 12--HAVERHILL -- The cities of Haverhill and Methuen will be receiving $185,000 through the commonwealth's Shannon Grant program to address regional youth gang violence.

An additional $29,709 will be distributed to UMass Lowell's satellite campus at Harbor Place in Haverhill, which is a Local Action Research Partner (LARP) with the program.

Grants through the Sen. Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative help communities develop plans to prevent youth violence and gang problems.

Strategies funded by the grant include social intervention and opportunity provision programs, as well as gang task force personnel costs and police overtime.

Methuen police conduct hot-spot and directed patrols, based on crime statistics and complaints, in areas known for gang and drug activity.

Their main grant partner is the Methuen-Arlington Neighborhood Inc. (MAN Inc.), which uses its grant money to run various after-school programs as well as educational field trips, according to Methuen Police Capt. Kevin Mahoney, community outreach bureau commander.

"The funding is very useful to our department as it allows us to target areas of complaints of drugs and gangs," Mahoney said.

Haverhill's grant partners include the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Haverhill, the Mount Washington Alliance, the Haverhill YMCA and UTEC for street outreach.

Haverhill police use their grant funds for efforts such as hot-spot patrols in the Mount Washington and Acre neighborhoods, where officers are on the lookout for gang activity and also work to develop relationships with youths who may be targets of gang recruitment.

"Each partner has a role to play, whether its an after-school program or simply keeping them engaged with activities such as basketball," said police Deputy Chief Anthony Haugh. "As part of the Shannon Grant, UMass Lowell gathers data to see if these programs have had a positive impact. We've noticed we've had more and more youth participating in these programs, which we know has had a positive effect in keeping kids out of situations that put them in the at-risk category."

The $7.1 million being distributed through this year's Shannon Grant program is being administered by the commonwealth's Executive Office of Public Safety and Homeland Security.

___

(c)2019 The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.)

Visit The Eagle-Tribune (North Andover, Mass.) at www.eagletribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.