The Board of Aldermen put a couple of nails in the the youth services plank of their legislative agenda Wednesday night.
The board approved a resolution designating $200,000 in capital spending for youth facilities in the city, and approved the application for two grants for the prevention of youth violence.
Both items were approved unanimously at the board’s Wednesday night meeting.
Yale Alderwoman Sarah Eidelson, chair of the Youth Services Committee, presented the items to her colleagues before the votes.
The $200,000 capital spending comes from the Engineering Department. Of that total, $40,000 will go toward assessing the state of the Dixwell Q House building, the long-shuttered community center that neighborhood activists have been trying to reopen for years. The other $160,000 will go toward studying the feasibility of opening youth services centers in other parts of the city, to be determined, Eidelson said.
The two youth violence-prevention grants would total $750,000 and last cumulatively from Jan. 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014. The money would come from the state judicial branch’s Court Support Services and pay for pay for things like youth job training, mentoring, leadership, and mediation. Eidelson said it’s likely the city will win the grants.
West River Alderwoman Tyisha Walker rose to speak in support of the proposals. She said they will help achieve the goals set out in the legislative agenda that aldermen agreed to in January, of which youth issues was one of three foci.
Both items passed unanimously with no further discussion.
Great! Hopefully this support will continue and increase!