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Weed & Seed

Overview

Weed & Seed is a national initiative by the Department of Justice to "weed" out crime in a targeted community and then to "seed" that area with positive resources designed to permanently uplift and improve the quality of life for its children and families. The New Orleans Weed & Seed Program, in existence since 1993 and Officially Recognized in 1996, serves as a model program for the Department of Justice, Executive Office for Weed & Seed.

The New Orleans Weed & Seed Initiative is governed by an Executive Committee, co-chaired by U. S. Attorney Jim Letten, and and a Steering Committee. Other members of the Executive and Steering Committees include the Mayor's Office, New Orleans Police Department, the Housing Authority of New Orleans, Orleans Parish Public Schools, the Iberville and Lafitte Resident Councils, Treme Community organizations, community leaders, state and local elected representatives of the Treme Community, members of the New Orleans business community and non-profit service providers operating in the target area. The target area is bounded by Canal, Rampart, Esplanade and Broad Streets, and includes the Treme Community, Central City, as well as the Iberville and Lafitte Public Housing Developments.

The Initiative oversees many positive programs and activities. Some of the programs have been ongoing since the inception of the New Orleans initiative and represent the cornerstone of the four part Weed & Seed strategy:

  1. law enforcement;
  2. community policing;
  3. prevention, intervention and treatment; and
  4. neighborhood restoration/economic development.

Thus, the law enforcement programs of the New Orleans Weed & Seed strategy provide the necessary "weeding" component, while the safe haven programs are required elements in every site's "seeding" strategy.

The New Orleans Weed & Seed Program continues to make substantial progress. In 1998, the program received its second year funding of $300,000 and that same year was provided with an additional $100,000 to assist in the renovation of a building and program development of the Bacatown Community Center in the target area. This year (2002), Bacatown officially opened its doors.

Read on to learn about the other facets of our Weed & Seed program: Everybody Wins (reading program), Reducing Guns and Seeding the Community.