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Chavous, Allen seek $1 million for youth program
(Published March 8, 2004)
Two city council members are asking Mayor Anthony A. Williams to commit $1 million to a pilot project
aimed at stopping youth violence by coordinating delivery of comprehensive community services to the
majority of the Districts children, who live east of the Anacostia River.
"Traditional avenues of outreach are not adequate. It is time to take a new approach to reaching and
supporting these young people and their families," said Councilman Kevin P. Chavous, D-Ward 7, who made
the proposal Feb. 27 along with Councilwoman Sandy Allen, D-Ward 8.
Chavous and Allen, who together represent the entire section of the District located east of the river, made
their plea in front of Ballou Senior High, the Southeast Washington school in which student James Richardson
was fatally shot earlier this month. Police said the shooting, allegedly by another student, stemmed from a
long-running feud between neighborhoods.
The council members plan calls for the Childrens Youth Investment Trust Corp., which was created by
Mayor Williams administration, to coordinate community-based and faith-based organizations efforts as part
of the project and to administer project funding. The proposal would create six service sites three in Ward 7
and three in Ward 8 and begin programs by the time the current school year ends in June.
Included in the plan are after-school programs, nighttime athletics, faith-based programs, mentoring,
counseling, meals and access to health services. Anacostia, Woodson and Ballou senior high schools are
envisioned as "centers of activity" for the project.
Chavous and Allen also called for the creation of a vocational charter school by September 2004 as a goal of
the project. The Districts public school system currently operates only one vocational school, M.M.
Washington Career Senior High School in Northwest Washington, which offers limited career training
programs to only about 300 of the systems almost 65,000 students.
Mayoral spokesman Tony Bullock said enlisting the expertise of the Childrens Youth Investment Trust Corp.
in the project "sounds like a good plan, but we would want to look at their specific proposal" before
committing support.
"We think theyre doing a lot of good work around the city and getting them more money is not something we
would object to," Bullock said.
Copyright 2004, The Common Denominator
March 8, 2004 - News - Chavous, Allen seek $1 million for youth program http://www.thecommondenominator.com/030804_news5.html
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