Weed & Seed Committee Gets Last of State Grant

Though the Weed & Seed program that had brought nearly $2 million dollars to Norristown in the last ten years was cut last year in Gov. Corbett's budget, there was still $27,000 left in available state funds.

Norristown's Weed & Seed Steering Committee managed to secure those funds and plan to use the grant for programs designed to curb youth violence and proved life skills training for families in crisis. The money would also pay for capacity building and training for community leaders to empower them to secure further grants and support for programs.

According to a release issued by the committee, the grant will pay for:

• 170 Hours of police officers in schools teaching elementary school students about the dangers of guns and gun violence
• 60 Hours of life skills training with children and parents on crucial issues that may instigate violent activity
• A proposed police/youth forum for 225 middle-school aged students, focusing on building mutual understanding and respect between teenagers and police.
• 30 Hour of capacity building for more than 20 grassroots, community leaders to sustain the Steering Committee and provide training to further enhance a community-wide, comprehensive approach to youth violence

See our video above for more details of the grant and the programs it would fund at the committee's announcement on Tuesday at the .