HUNTINGTON -- Huntington's Weed and Seed Program is still in the infancy stage, but it's already reaching goals in some areas that Tim White didn't think he would see for another two or three years.
White, the director of the Weed and Seed Program, met with The Herald-Dispatch's editorial board Wednesday to talk about how the program has affected a two-square-mile area of Huntington that has traditionally accounted for about two-thirds of the crime reported in the city.
In a nutshell, the Weed and Seed Program aims to accomplish exactly what its name implies: Weeding out violent crime and drug activity and seeding in a plethora of neighborhood revitalization and social support programs. White said there has been success on both fronts.
Additional law enforcement resources in the Weed and Seed area are starting to produce results, he said. The program's boundaries run from 8th to 28th streets between 2nd Avenue and as far south as 13th Avenue and Roby Road.
For example, convictions of drug and weapon crimes in the designated Weed and Seed area have increased 11 percent since the program started. White said that can be attributed to federal funding that allowed Cabell County to hire an assistant prosecutor who works solely on crimes in the designated area.
Tips from neighbors also have helped. White said two significant drug busts in the past three weeks were the result of tips from the community.
The program, funded by a $1 million Department of Justice grant over the next five years, has allowed the Huntington Police Department to increase bicycle patrols in the area.
The department has a full-time presence in the area now. Its bicycle patrol, K-9 Unit and Special Emphasis Unit are stationed at the Barnett Center, an old day care building at Hal Greer Boulevard and 10th Avenue. The units share the building with facilities geared toward the "seeding" component of the program, White said.
That includes a computer lab, dance studio, recreational room and community garden that is used to teach residents how to plant vegetables and flowers.
"We've gone from a boarded-up, empty day care center that has been closed for two years to an absolutely beautiful showcase facility," White said.
He estimated that businesses and volunteers have donated more than $120,000 cash and work hours since the Weed and Seed Program moved into the Barnett Center in January.
The building is open to businesses and organizations that want to put on community-oriented programs. The law firm of Huddleston Bolen is offering financial-training programs this summer, and Lowe's and The Home Depot are bringing their popular home-improvement classes to the Barnett Center, White said.
Goodwill Industries of the KYOWVA Area also has hired a life-skills instructor who will work full-time out of the Barnett Center, he said.
"We can arrest all the people and make all the drug busts we want," White said. "But if we're not seeding in educational and life-skills training that prepares people to help themselves, we'll never make any progress."
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