{"id":248,"date":"2018-03-12T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-12T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2018\/03\/12\/20171215newhallvilles-byrne-grant-approved-by-department-of-justice\/"},"modified":"2020-09-05T19:48:04","modified_gmt":"2020-09-05T19:48:04","slug":"20171215newhallvilles-byrne-grant-approved-by-department-of-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/2018\/03\/12\/20171215newhallvilles-byrne-grant-approved-by-department-of-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Newhallville\u2019s Byrne Grant approved by U.S. Department of Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:2500.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:66.68000030517578%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NH1.jpg\" alt=\"NH1.jpg\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NH1.jpg\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NH1.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2500x1667\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"NH1.jpg\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5a6a41098165f5ba129a9b48\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size:13pt\">Newhallville community members finally have access to the $1 million federal grant it has waited two years to use.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>By Grace Manthey<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">A Christmas tree on Shelton Avenue lit up what is now called the \u201c<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/The-Newhallville-Learning-Corridor-1400692839969446\/\">Learning Corridor<\/a>\u201d on the Farmington Canal in Newhallville, New Haven, on a chilly December evening. To the left of the tree a small crowd huddled around a table with vats of hot chocolate. Conversation and laughter warmed the winter air as members of the community celebrated the holidays. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But this \u201cNewhallville Winter Extravaganza\u201d wouldn\u2019t have been possible a few years ago, at least not at the Learning Corridor. According to Jeanette Sykes, who grew up in Newhallville and is a member of the Newhallville Management Team, this area used to be called the \u201cmud hole,\u201d and was a hotbed for shootings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cThat used to be a really bad area, but now we have a local guy who comes to cut the grass, we put some flowers out\u2026[it\u2019s] a big piece in our community which it wasn\u2019t before,\u201d Sykes said.&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:2500.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:66.68000030517578%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NH2.jpg\" alt=\"An entrance to the Farmington Canal near Shelton Avenue.\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NH2.jpg\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/NH2.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2500x1667\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"An entrance to the Farmington Canal near Shelton Avenue.\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5a6a4036085229bfa43146df\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>An entrance to the Farmington Canal near Shelton Avenue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">From 2011 to April 2014, Newhallville had <\/span><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/app.box.com\/s\/j3tsg520xl3pkx85ajtv\"><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">two to three times<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-size:11pt\"> the city crime rate in major violent crime categories. The Learning Corridor transformation is just one example of how residents working on the Newhallville Safe Neighborhood Initiative (NSNI) are trying to reduce that number. &nbsp;&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">And now the NSNI has a $1 million federal grant to work with.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">At the end of October, after two years of meetings, drafts and planning, the Department of Justice approved the grant for implementation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Over half of the usable <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.evernote.com\/shard\/s549\/sh\/370a7e86-043b-426c-8333-056b5239fd80\/ee75750f0040921e73ca3ae750182fc9\">budget<\/a> (minus employee benefits and expenses) will be going to youth-oriented programs, which offer mentoring programs, employment opportunities, and activities designed to keep kids off the street. The grant will give over $200,000 to organizations like the Promised Land Group, the NAFI Youth Police Initiative, the Newhallville Neighborhood Corporation, The Perfect Blend Mentoring Program, Newhallville YouthStat and Newhallville Ambassadors Program over the next two years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">The community members working on the initiative will give the remaining usable funds to community policing and beautification programs, such as the Neighborhood Housing Services and sub-grants aimed at violent \u201chot spots\u201d and \u201ccommunity cohesion projects through a competitive mini-grant process.\u201d Also, the grant will give to community programing, like the holiday party at the Learning Corridor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Finally, the Farmington Canal will get a makeover, courtesy of the Byrne Grant. Funding will allow for more lighting and cameras, as well as fixed workout equipment and chess tables.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>   <iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"embedly-embed\" src=\"\/\/cdn.embedly.com\/widgets\/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thinglink.com%2Fcard%2F995430058107600899&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thinglink.com%2Fscene%2F995430058107600899&amp;image=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.thinglink.me%2Fapi%2Fimage%2F995430058107600899%2F1024%2F10%2Fscaletowidth%2F0%2F0%2F1%2F1%2Ffalse%2Ftrue%3Fwait%3Dtrue&amp;key=61d05c9d54e8455ea7a9677c366be814&amp;type=text%2Fhtml&amp;schema=thinglink&amp;wmode=opaque\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"695\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-align-center\">Roll over each pie title to learn more about what each category represents.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Residents say that positive changes seem to be coming out of the grant. But it\u2019s been a long wait that has had its challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">The grant application was originally submitted on May 6, 2014. Planning officially began in October of the same year. A few months later in January 2015, it was approved by the New Haven Board of Alders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But the approval process was nowhere near finished, according to New Haven Youth Services Director Jason Bartlett.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cOrdinarily when you write a grant\u2026you say I\u2019m gonna do all these prescriptive things and they give you the money and then you have to do it. That\u2019s not what happens here,\u201d Bartlett said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">According to Bartlett, the approval process for grants like the Byrne grant are usually long. But while the city worked with the DOJ to finalize the planning and budget for the grant, the DOJ expected officials to start building \u201ccommunity cohesion\u201d to create support for the initiative and the grant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cThese grants are targeted toward neighborhoods that are systemically dysfunctional\u2026[with] lots of problems on both the political level as well as dealing with difficult demographics. And a lot of times some of Byrne Grant communities, you know, they don\u2019t even want the money. We actually faced that question here in New Haven,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Bartlett said a lot of it has to do with \u201cYale fatigue.\u201d With Yale being so close and such a high profile university, many people in communities like Newhallville feel like \u201clab rats\u201d when grant money comes through, and they feel like a lot of the research is more about helping the university than helping the people. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">To fight that \u201cYale fatigue,\u201d and build community cohesion, Bartlett and the city were then forced to \u201cdo some of the work without the money.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">In October 2015, one year after planning had officially started, Bartlett hired Arthur Edwards as project manager for the initiative. As a native of Newhallville, Edwards played an important role in building trust between community members and city officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI saw it as an opportunity to be that person to really facilitate positive change in Newhallville \u2026 We already knew that there was a trust factor on several levels that would have to be worked out \u2026 I thought I would be a great fit being from the area and knowing a lot of the residents in Newhallville,\u201d Edwards said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI stayed focused on the fact that collaboration is key, and the only way that we are going to get change is through a collective effort,\u201d he continued. &nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">To facilitate that \u201ccollective effort,\u201d Edwards set up a governance council of 13 people to serve as his advisors and representatives of the Newhallville community. The council included three alders, leaders from the Newhallville Management Team, the Board of Education, religious leaders and regular community members. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Edwards and the council continued the work that Bartlett started. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">So while working with an organization called the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a non-profit community development financial institution, to get approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, Edwards and Bartlett engaged with young people, started a program called YouthStat, invested in beautification projects around \u201chot spots\u201d like the Farmington Canal, started a clean streets initiative and worked with the New Haven Police Department. All of this to prove the long term effects to the DOJ. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cYou\u2019re basically making an argument in writing on paper that what you\u2019re doing is going to have a lasting impact on those hot spots and somehow you\u2019re going to alleviate the hot spots in the neighborhood and that\u2019s going to last beyond the two years and the million dollars,\u201d Bartlett said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">For Bartlett, Edwards, Sykes and the rest of the governance council, the decision of how to divvy up the money to ensure sustainability in the community wasn\u2019t an easy one. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cThe biggest challenge for me was the communication between various governments \u2026 again you\u2019re talking city to federal \u2026 the turnaround for information was very challenging and frustrating at times,\u201d said Edwards. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But it wasn\u2019t just communication between city and federal departments that hindered a smooth planning period.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cEveryone was so passionate about what they believe in,\u201d Sykes said. In community meetings the governance council held about the grant, Sykes said there were definitely arguments over whether the money should be spent on elderly, youth, redevelopment or activities. However Sykes assured the community members that no matter what the money was spent on, \u201ceverything intertwines.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI said to them even if you do a youth program or a youth workshop, a youth workshop can help the elderly. What about the elderly people in our community that still have their houses but they can\u2019t do their lawn? Or they can\u2019t do the snow removing? Well maybe that\u2019s a job we can develop for a young person to do,\u201d Sykes said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">She continued and said that once the community was able to refocus the passion to sustainability, that was when the transition become smoother.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cWe do have a lot of great organizations. And a lot of little organizations that have been around for 10 years, 15 years, 20 years. We went wow! You\u2019ve been doing this all this time? Okay well you need to come to the table,\u201d Sykes said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">It may be difficult, though, to conclude how much this initiative has helped curb crime in the neighborhood. According to crime data from the New Haven Police Department, between 2015 and 2016 violent crime in police district seven, where Newhallville falls, actually rose from 11 percent to 14 percent relative to city-wide violent crime rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Up to December 3, 2017, however, the total relative violent crime rates did drop one percentage point to 13%. And after a spike in 2015, total crime in the district seems to be dropping. (See chart)&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:1409.0px;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:68.06245422363281%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Crime-Dist-7.png\" alt=\"Numbers based on data collected from the New Haven Police Department.\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Crime-Dist-7.png\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Crime-Dist-7.png\" data-image-dimensions=\"1409x959\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Numbers based on data collected from the New Haven Police Department.\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5a6a3fec53450a2c67c8944f\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>Numbers based on data collected from the New Haven Police Department.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">But the primary goal of the initiative and the grant is long-term sustainability, and implementation only started a relatively short time ago. So despite the fact that according to Sykes, talks of this initiative started nearly a decade ago, seeing a significant difference in a year may not be realistic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">\u201cI think we need to get the bad rep off of us,\u201d Sykes said. &nbsp;\u201cI think that every community has their strength and every community has things that they can work on. And I think when people hear Newhallville they automatically go to the negative. And it\u2019s not all negative. [There\u2019s] a lot of positive that happens in Newhallville.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">By investing the positive aspects of Newhallville: the youth, and the long-lasting projects, community leaders hope the DOJ and city goal of sustainability will become a reality. According to Bartlett, in two years \u201ca million dollars is not that much money. So what you\u2019re doing, you want to be able to sustain it so that there\u2019s real and lasting transformation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:11pt\">Because at the end of the day, according to Sykes, \u201cOur message is we are committed to our community, we love Newhallville and it\u2019s not just a safe haven for us, it\u2019s a loving community.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div\n        class=\"\n          image-block-outer-wrapper\n          layout-caption-below\n          design-layout-inline\n          \n          \n          \n        \"\n        data-test=\"image-block-inline-outer-wrapper\"\n    ><\/p>\n<figure\n            class=\"\n              sqs-block-image-figure\n              intrinsic\n            \"\n            style=\"max-width:100%;\"\n        ><\/p>\n<p>            <button\n                class=\"\n                  sqs-block-image-button\n                  lightbox\n                  \n          \n        \n                \"\n                data-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Above, it is easy to see the time it took for the DOJ to approve the grant, in comparison to when New Haven officials originally submitted the application.&amp;nbsp;&lt;\/p&gt;\"\n                data-lightbox-theme=\"light\"\n            ><br \/>\n              <span class=\"v6-visually-hidden\">View fullsize<\/span><\/p>\n<div\n              \n                style=\"padding-bottom:131.67999267578125%;\"\n              \n              class=\"\n                image-block-wrapper\n                \n          \n        \n                has-aspect-ratio\n              \"\n              data-animation-role=\"image\"\n              \n  data-animation-override\n\n          ><br \/>\n            <noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/TImeline.jpg\" alt=\"Above, it is easy to see the time it took for the DOJ to approve the grant, in comparison to when New Haven officials originally submitted the application.&amp;nbsp;\" \/><\/noscript><img class=\"thumb-image\" data-src=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/TImeline.jpg\" data-image=\"http:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/TImeline.jpg\" data-image-dimensions=\"2500x3292\" data-image-focal-point=\"0.5,0.5\" alt=\"Above, it is easy to see the time it took for the DOJ to approve the grant, in comparison to when New Haven officials originally submitted the application.&amp;nbsp;\" data-load=\"false\" data-image-id=\"5a34a93f71c10b467bfbc476\" data-type=\"image\" \/>\n          <\/div>\n<p>            <\/button><figcaption class=\"image-caption-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>Above, it is easy to see the time it took for the DOJ to approve the grant, in comparison to when New Haven officials originally submitted the application.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size:13pt\">Newhallville community members finally have access to the $1 million federal grant they have waited two years to use. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":249,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,142],"tags":[141,69,140],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hamden","category-homepage","tag-crime","tag-new-haven","tag-newhallville"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2930,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions\/2930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hqnn.org\/hqpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}