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Honoring Augusta Baseball Coach Jerry Hunter for caring about our inner city youth: W. K. Kellogg Foundation New Tools New Visions 2 (NTNV2) sponsored a youth baseball camp at Paine College with Jerry Hunter as coach
New Tools New Visions 2 (NTNV2) in Augusta, Georgia: Finding healthy outlets and activities for inner city youth and others facing social inequalities by addressing issues of environmental health, violence, health equity, and social justice.
NTNV2 is a Paine College/Community Partnership funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation
NTNV was the primary sponsor of a baseball camp for inner city youth in the summer of 2010 organized by amazing and outstanding Augusta Coach Jerry Hunter.
The Jerry Hunter Baseball camp for middle school and elementary school kids included "inner city youth from Augusta area housing projects," said Rev. Terence A. Dicks, an Augusta activist and the NTNV2 Community Liaison and Steering Committee chair and New Tools for Healthy People 2020.
"We need more projects like the Coach Jerry Hunter's baseball camp for our children - to give them something to do" during the long, hot summers in Augusta, said Rev. Dicks, who is hoping to help start more projects for Augusta area youth because they are targets for greedy drug dealers and have too much time on their hands if not involved in extracurricular activities.
Coach Hunter "is a very enterprising young educator and a Paine College Alumni," Dicks said.
Coach Hunter was the boy's baseball coach (2007-2010) at Lucy C. Laney High School in Augusta and then became the celebrated head coach of the high school boy's basketball team - leading the team to its first class AA state championship in 2012.
"It's a Mother's Day gift to Miss Laney, from us," said the modest Wildcats coach Jerry Hunter in an interview with an Augusta newspaper following the March 11, 2012 state championship victory.
Coach Hunter was honoring the school's famous and beloved namesake:
Post Civil War African American Educator, Reformer, and Social Activist Lucy Craft Laney - who established a school for African American children in Augusta and was a huge inspiration to many of her students including (Mary McLeod Bethune) a future advisor to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR).
Coach Hunter stepped down as the school's basketball coach in 2013 to spend more time focusing on his family.
A 1997 Paine College graduate who lettered in basketball, Coach Hunter was a member of the 1994 basketball team that won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
In 2011, Coach Hunter's son LaTron (3rd base) became the first Wildcats baseball player to ever get a full athletic scholarship signing with Southern Union State Community College in Alabama.
Hoping his son's scholarship will encourage more youth to play baseball, Coach Hunter said LaTron showed Augusta athletes it's possible to earn a scholarship in sports other than basketball and football.
Hunter's three seasons as head basketball coach for Laney (77-15 record/84 percent success) included three Final Four appearances and the 2012 state championship.
Coach Jerry Hunter: Paine College Class of '97 is among those honored in June 2012 by Augusta Sports Council
www.paineathletics.com/news/2012/6/4/GEN_0604122721.aspx
paineathletics.com/mobile/index.aspx?story=261
Coach Jerry Hunter
laney.rcboe.org/user_profile_view.aspx?id=f02f561b-efd9-4...
www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/laney-wildcats-%28augusta,g...
augustaeagles.blogspot.com/2012/03/post-game-show-guests-...
Laney Coach Jerry Hunter has stepped down as basketball coach March 18, 2013
www.wrdw.com/sports/headlines/Laneys-Hunter-steps-down-as...
www.wrdw.com/sports/headlines/Long_road_led_to_Laneys_fir...
chronicle.augusta.com/sports/high-school/2013-03-18/laney...
Laney routs Manchester for its first state title
Laney 67, Manchester 53
Sunday, March 11, 2012
www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/State_Champion_Laney_Wildcats...
chronicle.augusta.com/sports/high-school/2012-03-11/laney...
Team and Coach Jerry Hunter honored by city of Augusta after 2012 state championship victory
chronicle.augusta.com/sports/2012-03-20/state-champion-la...
2012 stories in Augusta newspaper about student helped by coach Hunter
Problem child : Laney High star athlete overcomes odds to graduate - and gives praise to coach Jerry Hunter:
chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2012-05-19/laney-hig...
Fostering success: Laney star made home on basketball court
chronicle.augusta.com/news/education/2012-04-29/laney-sta...
Jerry Hunter's students/players go on to acclaim:
www.tigernet.com/story/basketball/Rod-Hall-signs-letter-i...
www.orangeandwhite.com/news/2013/mar/20/brad-brownells-bu...
Educator, Reformer, Social Activist Lucy Craft Laney (April 13, 1854-October 24, 1933), an early African American educator who established a school for African American children in Augusta, Georgia:
www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_laney.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Craft_Laney
New Tools New Visions 2 (NTNV2) in Augusta, Georgia:
NTNV2 is a Paine College/Community Partnership
Funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation
NTNV2 is a community collaborative organization built on Community Based Participatory Research principles
NTNV includes the Project Harambee Kick-Off at Paine College in Augusta, GA on Jan. 26, 2013 that Promotes Help Seeking - and is a Substance Abuse Prevention and Suicide Prevention Initiative titled "Friends Don't Let Friends Fall Apart."
NTNV organizes Augusta churches in public, celebratory activities.
Pastors, Ministers and other Religious leaders can publicly commit their churches to the Annual Black Church Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS.
Encourage HIV/AIDS education, promoting HIV testing and organizing against stigma.
The group's intention to serve as a vehicle for increasing the level of public awareness in the Augusta Black church community.
NTNV 2 assessment by Dr. Kimberly M. Coleman, MPH - consultant and paid contractor for the Kellogg Foundation
11-8-10 in Denver, CO
138th annual meeting of the American Public Health Association
"Lessons learned as a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) technical assistance coordinator - partnered with four rural, African American Communities" in Albany, Augusta, Fort Valley, Savannah.
www.slideshare.net/kmcoleman1/new-tools-new-visions-2
kcolem16@nccu.edu
drkmcoleman@gmail.com
NTNV2 Purposes:
Connect four rural GA communities surrounding Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with faculty resources to develop a community-based participatory research (CBPR) infrastructure to address issues of environmental health, violence, health equity, and social justice.
NTNV2 Project Goals:
Help community residents to resolve identified problems, and create change in public policy, and quality of life using several public health-based strategies to engage community residents and partners with researchers and/or HBCUs to develop solutions for each targeted community's health issue among local residents
Community Grantees:
Four Southern Georgia community organizations were selected after submitting proposals to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Harambee House, Inc. and Citizens for Environmental Justice
United Methodist News Service story March 2008 by Linda Green
www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&a...
Kellogg Foundation
www.facebook.com/pages/WK-Kellogg-Foundation/111812468884033
www.twitter.com/WK_Kellogg_Fdn
Participants define strategies to eliminate obstacles from and creating good policies for African Americans to develop healthy families.
Using the Healthy People 2020 objectives include dynamic interaction between building healthier family structures and eradicating obstacles to healthier Black families.
While myriad areas of health disparities will be addressed, special attention will be paid to four focus areas:
Violence as a public health issue
HIV/AIDS
Mental Health Disparities
Under-utilization of Preventative Care
Presenters take a proactive stance in addressing critical matters corresponding to the creation of stronger Black Families and improved health conditions.
Presenters include outside experts and the Augusta community, Paine College faculty/students plus reps of the Medical College of Georgia health system.
NTNV2 Augusta is a partner of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health's National Partnership for Action (NPA) to End Health Disparities, and a member of the national Healthy People 2020 Consortium.
More info:
Dr. Adeleri Onisegun
NTNV2 Project Director
Paine College Dept. of Psychology
706-821-8281
aonisegun@paine.edu
Rev. Terence A. Dicks
NTNV2 Community Liaison
Chair, Steering Committee
706-799-5598
The relentless cycle of opiate addiction can have a drastic effect on your well-being and the health and happiness of those around you. At Bold Steps Behavioral Health Benzodiazepine Addiction Treatment Center Harrisburg PA, we seek to help every person who walks through our doors find healing and direction through a tailored plan of care. Call us at (717) 790-6670 for more information about benzodiazepine addiction treatment center Harrisburg or visit our website.
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Crossroads provides gender-responsive addiction and behavioral health treatment services in a safe and respectful environment so individuals and families can lead healthy lives. For more information on the outpatient counseling services for men and women in Kennebunk, Maine, call 207.467.3369 or visit www.crossroadsme.org
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Crossroads held its inaugural Community Awards Breakfast on May 21, 2014 at the Embassy Suites in Portland. At the event, Crossroads honored those community members who have unselfishly committed themselves to heighten awareness, promote prevention or deliver treatment as an alternative to the pain of addiction to alcohol or others drugs.
Honorees included:
Kevin Mannix & Linda Rota, Community Leader Award
Dr. Michael Patnaude, Community Medical Award
Kenneth McCullough, Addictions Professional Award
Elizabeth Powell, Legal Professional Award
Steve Reynolds, Community Business Award
Crossroads held its inaugural Community Awards Breakfast on May 21, 2014 at the Embassy Suites in Portland. At the event, Crossroads honored those community members who have unselfishly committed themselves to heighten awareness, promote prevention or deliver treatment as an alternative to the pain of addiction to alcohol or others drugs.
Honorees included:
Kevin Mannix & Linda Rota, Community Leader Award
Dr. Michael Patnaude, Community Medical Award
Kenneth McCullough, Addictions Professional Award
Elizabeth Powell, Legal Professional Award
Steve Reynolds, Community Business Award
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Drug Rehab San Jose
2880 Zanker Road Suite 203 San Jose, CA 95134
408-549-1683
drugrehabphoenix@gmail.com
Drug Rehab San Jose is the premier inpatient and outpatient facility in San Jose, California – providing help for those who are fighting addiction.
Crossroads held its inaugural Community Awards Breakfast on May 21, 2014 at the Embassy Suites in Portland. At the event, Crossroads honored those community members who have unselfishly committed themselves to heighten awareness, promote prevention or deliver treatment as an alternative to the pain of addiction to alcohol or others drugs.
Honorees included:
Kevin Mannix & Linda Rota, Community Leader Award
Dr. Michael Patnaude, Community Medical Award
Kenneth McCullough, Addictions Professional Award
Elizabeth Powell, Legal Professional Award
Steve Reynolds, Community Business Award
Crossroads held its inaugural Community Awards Breakfast on May 21, 2014 at the Embassy Suites in Portland. At the event, Crossroads honored those community members who have unselfishly committed themselves to heighten awareness, promote prevention or deliver treatment as an alternative to the pain of addiction to alcohol or others drugs.
Honorees included:
Kevin Mannix & Linda Rota, Community Leader Award
Dr. Michael Patnaude, Community Medical Award
Kenneth McCullough, Addictions Professional Award
Elizabeth Powell, Legal Professional Award
Steve Reynolds, Community Business Award
Crossroads held its inaugural Community Awards Breakfast on May 21, 2014 at the Embassy Suites in Portland. At the event, Crossroads honored those community members who have unselfishly committed themselves to heighten awareness, promote prevention or deliver treatment as an alternative to the pain of addiction to alcohol or others drugs.
Honorees included:
Kevin Mannix & Linda Rota, Community Leader Award
Dr. Michael Patnaude, Community Medical Award
Kenneth McCullough, Addictions Professional Award
Elizabeth Powell, Legal Professional Award
Steve Reynolds, Community Business Award
Drug Rehab San Jose
2880 Zanker Road Suite 203 San Jose, CA 95134
408-549-1683
drugrehabphoenix@gmail.com
Drug Rehab San Jose is the premier inpatient and outpatient facility in San Jose, California – providing help for those who are fighting addiction.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Crossroads held its inaugural Community Awards Breakfast on May 21, 2014 at the Embassy Suites in Portland. At the event, Crossroads honored those community members who have unselfishly committed themselves to heighten awareness, promote prevention or deliver treatment as an alternative to the pain of addiction to alcohol or others drugs.
Honorees included:
Kevin Mannix & Linda Rota, Community Leader Award
Dr. Michael Patnaude, Community Medical Award
Kenneth McCullough, Addictions Professional Award
Elizabeth Powell, Legal Professional Award
Steve Reynolds, Community Business Award
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
Backed by the Governor, legislators, police, educators, clergy, community activists, Attorney General Matt Denn proposed a multi-faceted plan to allocate money from a financial crisis settlement Wednesday, designed to have a profound impact on some of Delaware’s most economically distressed and crime-stricken communities.
Funded by settlements with Bank of America and Citi to resolve allegations of actions with respect to investments that contributed to the financial crash, “Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities” consists of three main components: Investing in people and neighborhoods, providing help to our high-poverty schools, and promoting affordable housing and development in economically impacted areas.
“We believe that this ambitious investment in Delaware’s economically impacted communities has the potential to transform parts of our state,” said Attorney General Matt Denn, “and we have faith it will have a real impact on people who desperately need help.”
Governor Markell noted the plan supports efforts in some of the highest need areas of the state, which can then serve to enhance all of Delaware. “Thriving cities shelter their people in safe and comfortable homes,” Markell said. “They support vibrant neighborhoods, and that allows businesses to prosper, and it also lures visitors as well.”
The details of Lifting Up Delaware’s Communities are as follows:
1.Investing In People and Neighborhoods. An investment of almost $16 million in programs to help youth succeed, provide treatment for Delawareans with substance abuse disorder, help inmates being released from our prisons to avoid re-offending and going back to jail, and fund a variety of policing and other enrichment activities for economically impacted communities. Specifically:
a. Substance Abuse Treatment. Proposing $3 million be spent over a period of three years to establish additional treatment facilities for persons suffering from substance abuse disorder or related conditions.
b. After-School and Summer Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years for summer and after-school programs targeted at children from economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
c. Prison Re-Entry Programs. Proposing $3 million be spent over three years to provide competitive grants to non-profit organizations that assist persons being released from correctional facilities in Delaware to avoid new criminal offenses.
d. Community Policing and Community Support. Proposing $5.9 million be allocated to the state’s Neighborhood Building Blocks Fund, which can make grants for a broad array of government and non-profit efforts to support economically impacted neighborhoods. The fund currently has $1 million available from a prior bank settlement. One example of a potential use of these funds is the Wilmington neighborhood foot patrol initiative that the Department of Justice and the City of Wilmington are about to propose to the Fund. We are also proposing that $1 million of the funds be used to continue the existence of the Department of Justice’s Crime Strategies Unit, which is designed to address underlying causes of crime in economically disadvantaged areas (such as abating nuisance properties).
2.Providing Help to Our High-Poverty Schools. Proposing to invest almost $5 million in adding teachers and paraprofessionals for the 16 elementary schools in Delaware with the highest percentage of low-income students. Each of the following elementary schools would receive $300,000 over a three year period to hire additional teachers or paraprofessionals to provide additional assistance with their students:
Brittingham Elementary (Cape Henlopen School District)
East Dover Elementary (Capital School District)
Towne Point Elementary (Capital School District)
Bancroft Elementary (Christina School District)
Elbert Palmer Elementary (Christina School District)
Pulaski Elementary (Christina School District)
Stubbs Elementary (Christina School District),
Eisenberg Elementary (Colonial School District)
Colwyck Elementary (Colonial School District),
Dunbar Elementary (Laurel School District)
Highlands Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Lewis Dual Language Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Richardson Park Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Shortlidge Elementary (Red Clay School District)
Warner Elementary (Red Clay School District)
West Seaford Elementary (Seaford School District)
3.Promoting Affordable Housing and Development In Economically Impacted Areas. Proposing to invest almost $16 million in efforts to promote affordable housing and economic development in economically impacted areas of the state. Specifically:
a. Foreclosure Prevention. Proposing to direct $1.5 million to the Delaware Mortgage Assistance Program to help Delaware homeowners prevent foreclosures on their primary properties.
b. Affordable Housing. Proposing to dedicate over $10 million to the Delaware State Housing Authority’s Strong Neighborhoods Revolving Housing Fund which is dedicated to the creation of affordable housing in economically impacted areas.
c. Economic Development in Low Income Areas. Proposing to devote almost $4 million to the Downtown Development Districts Program, half of which would be used to provide down payment assistance to homeowners willing to purchase homes in those districts.
The settlement of multistate investigations into the actions by Bank of America and Citi, in addition to providing direct relief to some homeowners and the state’s pension funds, has resulted in the state having $36,615,801 that it is permitted to spend to (a) remediate harm the state suffered from the mortgage and financial crisis, and (b) improve housing. Given the nature of the settlement, the settlement funds are not meant to be used to simply supplant existing state programs or for programs that do not target economically impacted areas or individuals.
“In the past, the Attorney General’s Office has independently exercised its common law authority to distribute lawsuit settlement funds,” said Attorney General Matt Denn. “But given the unprecedented sum of money involved in this settlement, we believe it is a sound practice to consult with the Governor and General Assembly regarding the expenditure of the funds.”
The Attorney General has already consulted with the Governor and obtained his agreement regarding the use of the funds, and will now seek to enter into a similar agreement with the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee.
Addressing high poverty schools is supported by educators across the state. Equetta Jones, a fourth grade teacher at Warner Elementary School in Wilmington, looks forward to the opportunities the school funding will bring. “So many people think our children don’t want to learn. They do want to learn, they are inspired to learn, and they are me. I am a prodigy of city schools,” Jones said. “Our teachers are capable but we do need resources, and this funding will actually support us by giving us additional staff.”
Colonel Elmer Setting, Chief of the New Castle County Police, believes education is a key component to substance abuse treatment. “It’s normally the message from law enforcement that we must find drug dealers and arrest them,” Setting said. “We’ve done that, but the prisons are full and forced sobriety is not the answer. Education is the only way out.”
Several elected officials representing the city of Wilmington offered support to the initiative.
“This proposal to invest in some of our hardest hit communities is a balanced one that is important to our citizens and to our effort to reduce violent crime,” said Senator Margaret Rose Henry. “Not only should we make these investments, but given the violence that we are seeing in our neighborhoods, we should make them sooner rather than later.”
“We can argue about what money should be spent where, but it’s difficult for me not to agree with conceptually where this money is being spent,” said New Castle County Councilman Jea Street. “The fact of the matter is, if you look at housing, the highest foreclosure rate in the state is in my council district in the city. The city is in trouble and it needs help.”
Wilmington City Council President Theo Gregory thanked the Attorney General for acting so quickly. “I wanted to thank and express my appreciation for the foresight in the recognition that there’s an urgency to get started, and that Matt Denn hit the ground running,” Gregory said.
The Joint Finance Committee is expected to address the proposal in early February.
The Boulton Center for Women and Children houses Crossroads' Children And Mothers Program (CAMP). It is located in Windham, Maine. FMI, crossroadsme.org.
Crossroads offers residential substance abuse treatment specialized for women. Call Crossroads Residential Intakes & Admissions at 207.894.5733 to set up an appointment or visit our website at www.crossroadsme.org.
Crossroads provides gender-responsive addiction and behavioral health treatment services in a safe and respectful environment so individuals and families can lead healthy lives. For more information on the outpatient counseling services for men and women in Scarborough, Maine, call 207.773.9931 or visit www.crossroadsme.org
The Boulton Center for Women and Children houses Crossroads' Children And Mothers Program (CAMP). It is located in Windham, Maine. FMI, crossroadsme.org.
The Boulton Center for Women and Children houses Crossroads' Children And Mothers Program (CAMP). It is located in Windham, Maine. FMI, crossroadsme.org.
Crossroads provides gender-responsive addiction and behavioral health treatment services in a safe and respectful environment so individuals and families can lead healthy lives. For more information on the outpatient counseling services for men and women in Scarborough, Maine, call 207.773.9931 or visit www.crossroadsme.org
Crossroads provides gender-responsive addiction and behavioral health treatment services in a safe and respectful environment so individuals and families can lead healthy lives. For more information on the outpatient counseling services for men and women in Scarborough, Maine, call 207.773.9931 or visit www.crossroadsme.org
Crossroads offers residential substance abuse treatment specialized for women. Call Crossroads Residential Intakes & Admissions at 207.894.5733 to set up an appointment or visit our website at www.crossroadsme.org.
Crossroads offers residential substance abuse treatment specialized for women. Call Crossroads Residential Intakes & Admissions at 207.894.5733 to set up an appointment or visit our website at www.crossroadsme.org.
The Boulton Center for Women and Children houses Crossroads' Children And Mothers Program (CAMP). It is located in Windham, Maine. FMI, crossroadsme.org.