December 19
North Shore Community College (NSCC) and the city of Lynn will be able to continue their work on combatting youth violence thanks to $401,635.37 in state funding from the Senator Charles E. Shannon, Jr. Community Safety Initiative (Shannon CSI) Grant Program, which invests resources necessary to combat youth violence in target communities across Massachusetts.
The City of Lynn received the funding, of which $36,270 comes to NSCC to serve as a research partner. The funding will allow local work, serving youth and emerging adults between the ages of 10 and 24 living in a community that has been identified as a hot-spot and who are at-risk or high-risk of gang involvement, to continue for the ninth year
NSCC’s role in the grant is assisting the Lynn initiative by providing strategic, analytic, technical, and research support. NSCC assists with the grant requirements from the state, conducts research and analysis on local crime trends, and provides training on the latest research in the field and current issues in criminal justice.
“NSCC is honored and proud to continue in its role as the Local Action Research Partner for Lynn on the Shannon CSI Grant. The programs funded by the Shannon Grant continue to play a vital role in the city’s efforts to reduce gang involvement and violence in the 10-24 age group served by the grant,” said Frank D’Agostino, NSCC Criminal Justice Professor. “The Lynn Police deserve much of the credit for initiating the city’s involvement with the Shannon Grant 15 years ago, and for continuing to apply and manage the grant since then.
Today, the LPD works with Lynn agencies such as LifeScene, Catholic Charities, Lynn Youth Street Outreach Advocacy (LYSOA) and the Lynn Parks and Recreation Department to provide comprehensive services and programs for at risk youth in the 10-24 age group.
Since 2015, NSCC has received nearly $300,000 in funding, and key accomplishments have included: crime data analysis for Lynn youth between the ages of 10-24 (the grant's age range) on a monthly, quarterly and yearly basis; preparation of two comprehensive Community Gang Assessment reports and worked closely with our partners and other state agencies on developing an individual risk assessment tool, for determining if a youth is at risk for becoming a gang member.
In addition, NSCC’s grant funds support a paid student intern position for a Lynn criminal justice student who is interested in working with youth in the community. Interns work for a period of time with each Shannon organization and get first-hand experience as to what the youth workers do to make a difference in the lives of the population they serve.