What is Weed & Seed?
Weed and Seed as a strategy that aims to prevent, control, and
reduce violent crime, drug abuse, and gang activity in targeted
high-crime neighborhoods across the country.
The strategy involves a two-pronged approach:
Law
enforcement agencies and prosecutors cooperate in "weeding
out" criminals who participate in violent crime and drug
abuse, attempting to prevent their return to the targeted area.
"Seeding" brings human services to the area,
encompassing prevention, intervention, treatment, and neighborhood
revitalization.
|
|
|
The Martindale-Brightwood Community
During the
summer of 2006, the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood took a proactive
approach to purge the criminal element from its area. Martindale-Brightwood received official recognition as the
seventh Weed & Seed site in Indianapolis.
This Weed and Seed site covers 2.65 square miles, and has a population
of 8,907 (2005 Estimate). There are approximately 3,383 households, in
which 50.66% of these households earn less than $25,000 per year.
Eighty-nine percent (89.00%) of the residents are Black/African
American. Thirty-three percent (33.00%) of the residents are under age
18, 42.00% of the residents are between the ages of 18 and 44, and
25.00% of the residents are age 45 or older. Over thirty-six percent
(36.44%) of Martindale-Brightwood residents age 25 and older have not
earned a high school diploma or GED.
|
The Steering Committee
The Martindale-Brightwood (MB) Weed & Seed Steering Committee is
comprised of several neighborhood agencies including, but not
limited to, the City of Indianapolis, MB Community Development
Corporation (CDC), Oasis Christian CDC, Indianapolis Metropolitan
Police Department (IMPD), Indy Parks, and each of the four major
neighborhood associations in the area: Brightwood Concerned
Citizens, MB Neighborhood Association, Oakhill Civic Association,
and the Ralston Hovey Arsenal Association.
Martindale-Brightwood has
several seeding initiatives which include re-entry programs and
restoration projects. Also, there are eight (8)
designated Safe Havens in the community.
|