Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed

Tamela R. Aikens
Email: taikens@ameritech.net
7800 W. Outer Drive
Detroit MI 48235
Home: 313-840-6320
Office: 313-794-5546
Fax: 313-794-5550

Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed

Working to Prevent Crime ...

The mission of Weed and Seed is to ''weed'' out crime in neighborhoods; and ''seed'' in neighborhood restoration and positive community services!

Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed Strategy

Weed and Seed is a community outreach and crime prevention program of the U.S. Department of Justice. Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed operates under the leadership of U.S. Attorney Saul A. Green, of the Eastern District of Michigan.

The four elements of the Weed and Seed program include:

?· Law Enforcement ?… Coordinated efforts of federal, state, and county law enforcement with the 8th and 12th Police Precincts to apprehend criminals.

?· Community Policing ?… The ''bridge'' between the ''weeding'' (law enforcement) and ''seeding'' (positive community services). Working directly with community residents to develop solutions to neighborhood crime. Increased police visibility in neighborhoods.

?· Prevention, Intervention and Treatment ?… Youth services, school programs, community crime prevention awareness, funding for community safe havens, special initiative programming in the community.

?· Neighborhood Restoration ?… Revitalization of distressed neighborhoods in the Target Area through economic development.

OPPORTUNTIES FOR YOUTH!

OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH



Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed is an U.S. Department of Justice initiative designed to ''weed'' out crime and ''seed'' in positive community services. Under the leadership of United States Attorney Saul A. Green, Eastern Dist of MI, the program is made up of community leaders, Federal, State, County, and local law enforcement, Detroit area human service providers, northwest area schools, businesses, and churches. The program focuses on four areas: (1) law enforcement (weed); (2) community policing; (3) Community Empowerment and Services (seed); and (4) Neighborhood revitalization. Youth programs include:

Drug Education for Youth (DEFY) - Northwest Area youth (ages 9-12) attend summer camp and engage in positive activities and mentor interaction to encourage positive behaviors and drug/gang avoidance.

Police Officers Are Your Friends - Northwest Area elementary school youth tour the police precinct and participate in ''prevention-focused'' activities. They have lunch with the officers then return to school.

Gun Violence Prevention Project - Addresses the issue of gun violence in Northwest Detroit. Various law enforcement and human service professionals visit area middle and high schools and make presentations regarding the consequences of gun violence.

Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed America Reads Program - A year-round tutoring program designed to help improve youth's reading, writing, and math skills.

Summer Programs and/or youth employment opportunities:

DEFY- Summer Camp in August. Interested parents should contact Weed and Seed no later than the end of June.

America Reads - Contact Weed and Seed for ''reading site'' locations and tutoring schedule in Northwest Detroit.

Weed and Seed is also interested in hearing from youth who would like to form ''youth crime watch organizations'' in their schools.

Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed
Tamela R. Aikens, Executive Director
7800 W. Outer Drive Detroit, MI 48235
(313) 794-5546 (313) 794-5550 fax

GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION ....

Gun Violence Prevention Project seeks to ''prevent and reduce the acts of gun violence by uniting, mobilizing, and educating the community''

The events of the past year relating to violence and our youth does much to emphasize the need for communities to join together to end gun violence.

The reality of gun violence and the effect it has on our communities is so real, that if you never hear another statistic, see another grieving family, or ever read again about the tragic death of a law enforcement officer - enough lives have been taken to warrant a wake-up call in our communities.

Over the past several months, Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed has engaged the entire Target Area in its Gun Violence Prevention Project. The Project is aimed at raising the level of conscientiousness in the community toward gun violence prevention. As well as, working together with all the stakeholders in a neighborhood to ''seed in'' community standards and expectations that do not tolerate violence and other crimes.

The entire community was called upon to participate in the planning and implementation of Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed's Gun Violence Prevention Project. Four Planning Groups were formed: Community Outreach, Schools/Youth Outreach, Business Outreach, and Church Outreach. Each of these planning groups are made up of law enforcement officers, human service providers, pastors, elected officials, federal agencies, former gun violence victims, school administrators, students, senior citizens, residents, and business owners.

The coordinated planning efforts resulted in months of prevention activities and high profile community awareness events including Trigger Lock Giveaways, a Youth Education Program for middle and high school students, evening events for youth, a 30-day billboard campaign, and 20 simultaneous candlelight vigils. These events culminated with a community rally attended by hundreds of residents and two media outlets.

The Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed Target Area community was also instrumental in the successful results of an 18-month undercover investigation by Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) and the Detroit Police Department. The investigations focused on violent street crime, including drug distribution, assault, robbery, breaking and entering and crime involving guns, within Weed and Seed Target Areas.

Significantly, one month after the community rally, United States Attorney Saul A. Green of the Eastern District of Michigan, announced the unsealing of numerous Federal Grand Jury Indictments as well as Federal criminal complaints against 61 individuals on various narcotics, conspiracy, and weapons charges. The Wayne County Prosecutor's office also charged 81 individual with states drug crimes as a result of this investigation.

Planning efforts are currently underway for the second year of the Gun Violence Prevention Project activities and community awareness events. It will continue its emphasis on coordinated action among the professions of law, medicine, and public health, community leaders and other agencies, as well as its emphasis on early intervention and community awareness and education.

For more information about Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed's Gun Violence Prevention Project or its many other outreach efforts, please contact Tamela R. Aikens at (313) 794-5546 or email nwdetweedseed@ameritech.net. All are encouraged to visit Northwest Detroit Weed and Seed's website at www.mtds.wayne.edu/weed/weed.htm .