The Weed and Seed Initiative is designed for neighborhoods with persistent high levels of serious violent crime and corresponding social problems that without proper intervention often lead to increased levels of violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity. In Long Beach, the designated area is Long Beach Police Beats 4 and 5, which encompasses the area roughly east of the Los Angeles River, south of Hill Street, west of Cherry Avenue and north of Anaheim Street.
This area is home to 45,887 people, approximately 10 percent of the city's residents. The median household income is $21,728, and the majority of residents, 52%, earn less than $15,000 annually.
The Weed and Seed Program is composed of representatives of the following City Departments: Health and Human Services (Health Department), Community Development, Parks, Recreation and Marine, Library Services, Planning and Building, Public Works and Police Departments; City Manager's Office; Office of the City Prosecutor; United States Attorney; federal Drug Enforcement Administration; Los Angeles County Probation Department and District Attorney; State Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (Parole); social service agencies; faith-based and community based organizations; and residents.
The Health Department is the lead entity coordinating the grant and will be working through the newly developed Weed and Seed Steering Committee, an Ad Hoc Committee of the Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force, which formed as a result of the Youth and Gang Violence Report to the Mayor and City Council from the Human Relations Commission in 2003. The Co-chairs of the Steering Committee are Dr. Lydia Hollie of the Youth and Gang Violence Prevention Task Force, and Ted Marquez, Acting Law Enforcement Manager, United States Attorney's office.
"The Weed and Seed grant was written from the bottom up, not from the top down, and it was written with the needs of the community in mind," said Dr. Hollie. "The community will continue to be engaged throughout the delivery of the Weed and Seed programming."
Four elements make up the two-pronged Weed and Seed Strategy to weed out crime and seed community revitalization:
WEED
Law Enforcement - Crack down on crime; implement stings for drug arrests; and reduce crime. Involves: Police Department, City Prosecutor, LA County Probation and District Attorney, State Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (Parole), Federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
Community Policing - Increase community patrols; make themselves known to community representatives; and educate community on how to assist in their own law enforcement. Involves: Police Department, Community Development, community providers, and residents.
SEED
Prevention, Intervention and Treatment - Social services programming to increase outreach and prevention based strategies to reduce crime and improve quality of life in impacted areas. Involves: Health Department, Parks Recreation and Marine, Library, Community Development, community providers.
Neighborhood Restoration - Neighborhood based activities (community clean-ups, property renovation, etc) to improve the quality of life and empower residents to take back ownership of their neighborhoods. Involves: Community Development, community providers and residents.
Earlier this month, the City of Long Beach received the first year award of $175,000, which will be utilized by the Health and Police Departments. The competitive grant is renewable for up to five years, based on grant recipients reaching designated milestones.
