Pubdate: Thu, 02 May 2002
Source: Cleveland Daily Banner (TN)
Copyright: 2002 Cleveland Daily Banner
Contact:  http://www.clevelandbanner.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/947
Author: Tom Rowland, Cleveland City Mayor

BENEFITS OF WEED AND SEED

One area in our community that all of us should be proud is the Weed and 
Seed program -- even some crimes in the area receive enhanced punishment.

I salute Police Chief Lee Reese and others who worked hard to make this 
program a reality.

The Blythe Neighborhood Safe Haven and Resource Center is a cooperative 
effort of many agencies that was started by the Cleveland Police Department 
as a result of the U.S. Department of Justice Weed and Seed Program.

The idea behind Weed and Seed is to enhance the quality of life for 
citizens, typically from depressed and crime ridden areas, by "weeding" out 
bad elements like drug dealers, violent criminals and poor services and 
"seed" in good programs designed to assist the community.

The Cleveland Police Department has partnered with the Family Resource 
Agency, Cleveland City Schools, Adult Basic Education, the Cleveland Public 
Library, Signal Centers, Cleveland State Community College, Bradley 
Initiative for Church and Community and local residents and business people 
to provide a "one-stop-shop" for the community.

The old Blythe Avenue School was converted into a Safe Haven and Resource 
Center that boasts an enormous range of services. Some of these include:

* Signal Center provides welfare-to-work training for single parents and 
expectant mothers under the Families First program. The Signal Center 
provides counseling, job training, parenting classes, GED classes ad 
assists with the Health Department programs.

* An all-day, year-round Head Start program for preschool age children and 
their parents is provided. The program provides a day care that allows 
working parents to continue working while their children receive quality 
education and entertainment for normal classroom hours.

* Cleveland Public Library has a Reading Room at the Safe Haven. The 
Reading Room provides access to books, tutoring programs and GED training.

* Adult Basic Education and Opportunities for Adult Reading provides 
English As A Second Language classes, GED tutoring, and reading skills 
classes for the community.

* Bradley Initiative for Church and Community (BICC) provides a Community 
Development Credit Union for the community. This program provides banking 
services (low interest loans, checking accounts and savings accounts) to 
individuals who live, work, worship or volunteer in the area. The credit 
union also requires that individuals who open accounts receive training in 
rudimentary monetary skills, such as balancing a checkbook, maintaining a 
savings account and how to take out a loan.

* The Cleveland Police Department has a community-policing substation in 
the Safe Haven facility. Officers work closely with the community and 
service providers to develop a safe and effective environment.

* Weed and Seed has a Computer/Media Center at the Safe Haven. The center 
has multiple computer work stations that are Internet accessible by 
high-speed DSL. The computers can be used by residents to conduct job 
searches, complete homework, do resumes and write school papers. A laser 
printer is available, free of charge, to produce copies. The youth of the 
community are encouraged to use these facilities.

Cleveland State Community College, Signal Center and Weed and Seed have 
joined together to provide a college credit computer class, taught at the 
Safe Haven, for Families First parents. Cleveland State provides a teacher 
who instructs the students in the Computer/Media Center.

* Two community rooms are available for use at the Safe Haven. Both provide 
users with a conference room atmosphere in which to conduct training and/or 
meetings. The rooms are free of charge to Safe Haven partners and are 
available at an extremely small fee for businesses.

* The gymnasium at the facility has been renovated and serves as the 
backdrop for a host of programs. Cleveland Soccer League teams use the gym 
to train, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee 
has conducted methamphetamine training, and the Bradley County Sheriff's 
Office has conducted training in the gym. The Bradley Baptist Association 
and the Cleveland Police Department have partnered to provide Late Night 
Basketball competition for local youths.

* The Cleveland Police Department Traffic Accident Prevention (TAP) Team 
conducts monthly Child Restraint Device inspections and gives classes on 
child safety at Safe Haven. The TAP Team has partnered with the Signal 
Center to provide this training to expectant parents and single-parent 
households.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom