The Team Redeemed Life Center in Kent will receive an $80,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice
to help support its Night Walks program and youth outreach, prevention and intervention.
The grants are part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program to combat youth violence, according to a Dec. 9 news release. Funding of $17.5 million will support efforts across the country to address violent crime, including the gun violence that is often at its core.
In the Western District of Washington, community-based organizations serving youth in South King County will be awarded funding totaling $271,101. The other South County programs to receive $80,000 each are Cultures United in Burien/White Center to support program expansion and South Seattle-based Urban Family and Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition to promote community engagement on public safety issues and youth services.
The balance of the grant is for training, travel and administration.
“My reaction in receiving these funds are no surprise being that we’ve been already doing the work and the funding given will only allow us to move beyond our financial limitation in order to do our work on a greater level,” said Pastor Lawrence C. Boles III, who founded Kent’s Redeemed by the Blood Pentecostal Church of God in Christ. “Why not fund an organization that’s been doing the work without the proper funding.”
Boles founded the Team Redeemed Life Center, he serves as executive director of the community-based program that supports local police departments and other law enforcement agencies in conducting educational outreach activities in the city of Kent, for at-risk youths and teens involved in gang-related activities.
Boles said the funding will be used for the necessary services to assist in keeping our young people engaged and focused on the success of the project. The church and teen center are at 703 Central Ave. S.
The Night Walk program includes reaching out to help concerned residents and neighbors in Kent’s crime-troubled areas.
“It’s time for community to become more empowered so that we can be a guide to law enforcement on how to embrace the needs for a better community,” said Boles, who along with his wife Lady Jacqualine Boles, opened the Kent church in 2012.
The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs is the ‘fiscal agent’ for the funds – they are officially listed as the grantee – but the funding will go to the nonprofit agencies, according to the Department of Justice.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance, part of the department’s Office of Justice Programs, will administer the 88 grant awards, which are being made to designated fiscal agents to support local Project Safe Neighborhoods projects that work in partnership with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.
“This latest Project Safe Neighborhoods grant is critical to addressing the violent crime threatening cities and towns all across our country,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “Ensuring the safety of all Americans is the highest priority for the Department of Justice, but when it comes to violent crime, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. We have to work closely with local public safety agencies as well as community organizations to craft individual strategies unique to each community’s needs. Programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the funding it provides allow us to do just that.”
“Gun violence is a persistent public safety issue in our communities, and particularly concerning when it involves teens and young adults,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. “There is a path forward, but we cannot tackle these issues without the community having a voice and being involved in the solutions. This grant will support nonprofit organizations already working in Kent, Burien and South Seattle to expand their existing programs and engage our youth in positive activities, provide mentors and connections, and show them a path away from gun violence.”
Project Safe Neighborhoods programs are led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in collaboration with local public safety agencies, community stakeholders and other agencies and organizations that work to reduce violent crime.
In the Western District of Washington the U.S. Attorney’s Office partnered with the Kent Police Department, Burien Police Department, Seattle Police Department and the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to identify the locations and the nonprofit organizations for the grants.
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