The Center for Community Safety (CCS) at Winston-Salem State University will coordinate the training and technical assistance for Weed and Seed projects aimed at improving public safety in nine communities across the country.
Alvin Atkinson is interim director of the WSSU Center for Community Safety.
The Nine Weed and Seed sites have been selected by the U. S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO) to participate in a 16-month technical assistance project to implement or strengthen workforce development initiatives and strategies. The selected cities are: Flint, Mich.; Houston, Texas; Huntington, W.Va.; Kingsport, Tenn.; Long Beach, Calif.; Muncie, Ind.; Omaha, Neb.; Rockford, Ill.; and Yonkers, N. Y.
The CCS will provide on-site and other technical assistance in conjunction with experts from DOJ and the Center for reentry initiatives in these nine sites. The project can have a significant impact, since most Weed and Seed communities have a higher rate than other areas of returning ex-offenders with significant challenges and barriers to employment, due mostly to their criminal record and time incarcerated.
Weed and Seed, a community-based strategy sponsored by DOJ and overseen by CCDO, is an innovative and comprehensive multi-agency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention and community revitalization. Weed and Seed programs help reduce crime and recidivism while bridging and leveraging resources within a city to improve public safety in geographically targeted communities.
